Climate Change and the European Water Dimension - Agri ...

Climate Change
and the
European Water Dimension
Chapter VI.C. Climate Change and Water
Resources in the Ebro River Basin
Key Points
• Model output indicates that air temperature might increase
(2-3°C) and precipitation reduced (5-20%) for most of Spain,
and for the Ebro watershed. Increased temperature will
increase evaporative losses, crop water demands, and an
overall increase in water resource demand from all sectors
(civil, agricultural, industrial).
• There is likely to be a higher frequency of extreme events
(dry periods/droughts, torrential rains/floods).
• Runoff will likely decrease, pointing to a more efficient
management of water resources and runoff regulation for
flood protection.
• Reduced flows will result in diminished diluting power in
the Ebro and saline water might further advance. The
tenuous ecosystem in the river and its delta might be
endangered, leading to disappearance of endemic species.
• Subsidence of the delta due to reduced sediment
deposition coupled with global sea level rise of 0.2-0.82 m
by the year 2100 could be a threat to the existence to the
wetlands and the delta system.
• It is difficult to decouple pressures and impacts of climate
change from anthropogenic activities (e.g. increased
population, expansion of irrigated land, industrial growth).
It is important to distinguish natural fluctuations from the
effects of anthropogenic activities.
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