Adaptation of water resources management to climate change

Forecast of the IPCC on global temperature riseseason, the shift in seasonal flows can be expected to have an adverse impact on downstreamwater users. Irrigators will probably face shortages at critical periods. Hydropower operators willbe affected by the changes in the quantities of water available, especially during periods of droughtand high power demand.In Arctic regions the warmer temperatures have already resulted in the thawing of permafrostand the unseasonably early break-up of ice on rivers and lakes. 1 These changes impede roadtransportation that depends on a frozen surface, cause the destabilization of natural ecosystemsand soils, and damage buildings and public infrastructure. Other consequences of climate changeinclude the lengthening of high-latitude growing seasons and shifts in plant and animal ranges,including those of insects and disease vectors. 1 Such changes have serious implications for waterquality and seasonal water availability.The uncertaintyThe climate of the past can no longer be regarded as a reliable baseline from which to forecastclimate variability and extremes in the future. Extrapolations from observed data are becomingincreasingly unreliable. This suggests that the data and assumptions on which water use has been7