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Climate Change and Development in South Asia
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Climate Change and Development in South Asia

A special issue of Climate (ISSN 2225-1154).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2015) | Viewed by 64384

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Nir Krakauer

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Guest Editor
1. Department of Civil Engineering and NOAA-CESSRST, City College of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA
2. Earth and Environmental Sciences, City University of New York Graduate Center, New York, NY 10017, USA
Interests: climate change; water resources planning; groundwater; land-atmosphere interaction; sustainable agriculture; urban ecological design; carbon cycle monitoring; renewable energy resource assessment; probabilistic forecasting; data assimilation; model uncertainty assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Tarendra Lakhankar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
NOAA-CESSRST, The City College of New York, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
Interests: remote sensing; snow and soil moisture; flood; drought
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Soni M. Pradhanang

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Guest Editor
Department of Geosciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA
Interests: water resources; water quality; climate change; modeling; nutrients transport; forest ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Vishnu Pandey

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Guest Editor
Asian Institute of Technology and Management (AITM), Knowledge Village, Khumaltar Height, P.O.Box: Lalitpur -25, Nepal
Interests: climate change vulnerability and adaptation in water sector; GIS application in water management; groundwater development and management; hydrological modeling; water-energy-carbon nexus; water resources development and management; socio-economic aspects of water management interventions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Madan Lall Shrestha

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Guest Editor
Nepal Academyof Science and Technology Khumaltar, Lalitpu, Nepal
Interests: climate variability and climate change; climate and weather modeling; glacier dynamics; adaptation to climate change

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

South Asia’s people and ecologies are highly vulnerable to anthropogenic climate change. Such change arises from both global greenhouse gas emissions and from regional aerosol emissions and land use change. This Special Issue welcomes innovative approaches for supporting human development and resilience and for maintaining biological diversity and ecosystem services in mountain and lowland South Asia. Of interest are original investigations of climate science, mitigation, and adaptation in the region, as well as integrations of science, policy, and action for broad-based, sustainable improvements in living standards.

Potential topics include: global and regional causes and impacts of climate change affecting South Asia; improvements in weather, climate, and hazard forecasting, including monsoon prediction and decision support systems; disseminating climate science to stakeholders; water resource management, including modeling, impact assessment, governance, sustainable irrigation, and mitigating water-related health risks and disasters; agriculture and livestock modeling, impact assessment, vulnerability analysis, and strategies for resilience; and climate resilience for disempowered and marginalized people and groups.

This special issue is associated with the conference "International Conference on Climate Change Innovation and Resilience for Sustainable Livelihood", which will be held from 12–14 January 2015, in Kathmandu, Nepal

The conference will focus on approaches of the physical and social sciences to support economic development in mountain and lowland South Asia, which faces climate hazards along with food security, water and soil management and environmental justice challenges. Eminent scientists, policymakers, and development workers in both nonprofit and for-profit enterprises will discuss promising new approaches for integrating science, policy, and action. There will be opportunities for developing knowledge sharing hubs, regional working groups, action plans and pilot projects for regional climate change adaptation.

The four conference themes are:

[1] Climate Change: Climate Science and Modeling, Impacts and Adaptation Assessment, Hazard Prediction and Preparedness;

[2] Water Resource Management: Hydrologic Modeling, Snow and Glacier, Governance, Efficiency and Sustainability;

[3] Agriculture and Livestock: Food Security, Crop Modeling, Soil and Water Management for Resilience;

[4] Gender and Livelihood: Health, Environmental Justice, Development for Marginalized Groups.

Deadlines:
Abstract submission: 15 July 2014
Abstract selection notification: 15 August 2014
Full paper submission for conference proceedings: 31 October 2014
Early bird registration: 30 November 2014
Final paper submission to journal special issues: 30 April 2015

For more information and submission of abstracts: http://climdev15.org/ or e-mail [email protected]

Dr. Nir Y. Krakauer
Dr. Tarendra Lakhankar
Dr. Soni M. Pradhanang
Dr. Vishnu Prasad Pandey
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Climate is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.


Keywords

  • regional climate change
  • South Asian monsoon
  • climate change impacts
  • rural development
  • land cover and land use change
  • resilience
  • sustainability
  • environmental justice

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

1903 KiB  
Article
CMIP5 Projected Changes in the Annual Cycle of Indian Monsoon Rainfall
by Pravat Jena, Sarita Azad and Madhavan Nair Rajeevan
Climate 2016, 4(1), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli4010014 - 2 Mar 2016
Cited by 49 | Viewed by 9465
Abstract
The annual cycle of Indian monsoon rainfall plays a critical role in the agricultural as well as the industrial sector. Thus, it is necessary to evaluate the behaviour of the monsoon annual cycle in a warming climate. There are several studies on the [...] Read more.
The annual cycle of Indian monsoon rainfall plays a critical role in the agricultural as well as the industrial sector. Thus, it is necessary to evaluate the behaviour of the monsoon annual cycle in a warming climate. There are several studies on the variability and uncertainty of the Indian monsoon. This study, examines the impact of climate change on the annual cycle of monsoon rainfall in India from 1871–2100 by applying 20 model simulations designed by the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) coupled with the model inter-comparison Project 5 (CMIP5). It is found that the models MPI-ESM-LR, INM-CM4 and MRI-CGCM3 best capture the spatial patterns of the monsoon rainfall peak month (MRPM) of the winter monsoon compared to observations, whereas HadGEM2-AO and MIROC-ESM-CHEM best capture the MRPM of the summer monsoon. The MIROC, MIROC-ESM, and MIROC-ESM-CHEM models best capture the average rainfall intensity as well as the MRPM of all-India rainfall. This paper examines the future spatial distribution of the MRPM for meteorological sub-divisions of India, that can have crucial implications for water resources and management. Although the future projections as per the CMIP5 models indicate no changes in the MRPM of the all-India rainfall, a reduction in average intensity can be expected. The projections indicate a shift in the MRPM in some meteorological sub-divisions, particularly with regard to the summer monsoon but no significant change has been projected for the winter monsoon. For example, the summer monsoon MRPM is projected to move from July to August in northern and central India. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Development in South Asia)
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2876 KiB  
Article
Impact of Irrigation Method on Water Use Efficiency and Productivity of Fodder Crops in Nepal
by Ajay K Jha, Razan Malla, Mohan Sharma, Jeeban Panthi, Tarendra Lakhankar, Nir Y. Krakauer, Soni M. Pradhanang, Piyush Dahal and Madan Lall Shrestha
Climate 2016, 4(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli4010004 - 5 Jan 2016
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 11140
Abstract
Improved irrigation use efficiency is an important tool for intensifying and diversifying agriculture in Nepal, resulting in higher economic yield from irrigated farmlands with a minimum input of water. Research was conducted to evaluate the effect of irrigation method (furrow vs. drip) on [...] Read more.
Improved irrigation use efficiency is an important tool for intensifying and diversifying agriculture in Nepal, resulting in higher economic yield from irrigated farmlands with a minimum input of water. Research was conducted to evaluate the effect of irrigation method (furrow vs. drip) on the productivity of nutritious fodder species during off-monsoon dry periods in different elevation zones of central Nepal. A split-block factorial design was used. The factors considered were treatment location, fodder crop, and irrigation method. Commonly used local agronomical practices were followed in all respects except irrigation method. Results revealed that location effect was significant (p < 0.01) with highest fodder productivity seen for the middle elevation site, Syangja. Species effects were also significant, with teosinte (Euchlaena mexicana) having higher yield than cowpea (Vigna unguiculata). Irrigation method impacted green biomass yield (higher with furrow irrigation) but both methods yielded similar dry biomass, while water use was 73% less under drip irrigation. Our findings indicated that the controlled application of water through drip irrigation is able to produce acceptable yields of nutritionally dense fodder species during dry seasons, leading to more effective utilization and resource conservation of available land, fertilizer and water. Higher productivity of these nutritional fodders resulted in higher milk productivity for livestock smallholders. The ability to grow fodder crops year-round in lowland and hill regions of Nepal with limited water storages using low-cost, water-efficient drip irrigation may greatly increase livestock productivity and, hence, the economic security of smallholder farmers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Development in South Asia)
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1234 KiB  
Article
Statistical Selection of the Optimum Models in the CMIP5 Dataset for Climate Change Projections of Indian Monsoon Rainfall
by Pravat Jena, Sarita Azad and Madhavan Nair Rajeevan
Climate 2015, 3(4), 858-875; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli3040858 - 3 Nov 2015
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 7936
Abstract
Monsoons are the life and soul of India’s financial aspects, especially that of agribusiness in deciding cropping patterns. Around 80% of the yearly precipitation occurs from June to September amid monsoon season across India. Thus, its seasonal mean precipitation is crucial for agriculture [...] Read more.
Monsoons are the life and soul of India’s financial aspects, especially that of agribusiness in deciding cropping patterns. Around 80% of the yearly precipitation occurs from June to September amid monsoon season across India. Thus, its seasonal mean precipitation is crucial for agriculture and the national water supply. From the start of the 19th century, several studies have been conducted on the possible increments in Indian summer monsoon precipitation in the future. Unfortunately, none of them has endeavoured to discover the models whose yield give the best fit to the observed data. Here some statistical tests are performed to quantify the models of Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project 5 (CMIP5). Then, after, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method is used to select optimum models. It shows that four models, CCSM4, CESM1-CAM5, GFDL-CM3, and GFDL-ESM2G, best capture the pattern in Indian summer monsoon rainfall over the historical period (1871–2005). Further, Student’s t-test is utilized to estimate the significant changes in meteorological subdivisions of selected optimum models. Also, our results reveal the Indian meteorological subdivisions which are liable to encounter significant changes in mean at confidence levels that differ from 80% to 99%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Development in South Asia)
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368 KiB  
Article
Soil Water Potential Control of the Relationship between Moisture and Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Corn-Soybean Field
by Dinesh Panday and Nsalambi V. Nkongolo
Climate 2015, 3(3), 689-696; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli3030689 - 19 Aug 2015
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5941
Abstract
Soil water potential (Ψ) controls the dynamics of water in soils and can therefore affect greenhouse gas fluxes. We examined the relationship between soil moisture content (θ) at five different levels of water potential (Ψ = 0, −0.05, −0.1, −0.33 and −15 bar) [...] Read more.
Soil water potential (Ψ) controls the dynamics of water in soils and can therefore affect greenhouse gas fluxes. We examined the relationship between soil moisture content (θ) at five different levels of water potential (Ψ = 0, −0.05, −0.1, −0.33 and −15 bar) and greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide, CO2; nitrous oxide, N2O and methane, CH4) fluxes. The study was conducted in 2011 in a silt loam soil at Freeman farm of Lincoln University. Soil samples were collected at two depths: 0–10 and 10–20 cm and their bulk densities were measured. Samples were later saturated then brought into a pressure plate for measurements of Ψ and θ. Soil air samples for greenhouse gas flux analyses were collected using static and vented chambers, 30 cm in height and 20 cm in diameter. Determination of CO2, CH4 and N2O concentrations from soil air samples were done using a Shimadzu Gas Chromatograph (GC-14). Results showed that there were significant correlations between greenhouse gas fluxes and θ held at various Ψ in the 0–10 cm depth of soil group. For instance, θ at Ψ = 0 positively correlated with measured CO2 (p = 0.0043, r = 0.49), N2O (p = 0.0020, r = 0.64) and negatively correlated with CH4 (p = 0.0125, r = −0.44) fluxes. Regression analysis showed that 24%, 41% and 19% of changes in CO2, N2O and CH4 fluxes, respectively, were due to θ at Ψ = 0 (p < 0.05). This study stresses the need to monitor soil water potential when monitoring greenhouse gas fluxes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Development in South Asia)
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610 KiB  
Article
Probabilistic Precipitation Estimation with a Satellite Product
by Nir Y. Krakauer, Soni M. Pradhanang, Jeeban Panthi, Tarendra Lakhankar and Ajay K. Jha
Climate 2015, 3(2), 329-348; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli3020329 - 28 Apr 2015
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 7498
Abstract
Satellite-based precipitation products have been shown to represent precipitation well over Nepal at monthly resolution, compared to ground-based stations. Here, we extend our analysis to the daily and subdaily timescales, which are relevant for mapping the hazards caused by storms as well as [...] Read more.
Satellite-based precipitation products have been shown to represent precipitation well over Nepal at monthly resolution, compared to ground-based stations. Here, we extend our analysis to the daily and subdaily timescales, which are relevant for mapping the hazards caused by storms as well as drought. We compared the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B42RT product with individual stations and with the gridded APHRODITE product to evaluate its ability to retrieve different precipitation intensities. We find that 3B42RT, which is freely available in near real time, has reasonable correspondence with ground-based precipitation products on a daily timescale; rank correlation coefficients approach 0.6, almost as high as the retrospectively calibrated TMPA 3B42 product. We also find that higher-quality ground and satellite precipitation observations improve the correspondence between the two on the daily timescale, suggesting opportunities for improvement in satellite-based monitoring technology. Correlation of 3B42RT and 3B42 with station observations is lower on subdaily timescales, although the mean diurnal cycle of precipitation is roughly correct. We develop a probabilistic precipitation monitoring methodology that uses previous observations (climatology) as well as 3B42RT as input to generate daily precipitation accumulation probability distributions at each 0.25° x 0.25° grid cell in Nepal and surrounding areas. We quantify the information gain associated with using 3B42RT in the probabilistic model instead of relying only on climatology and show that the quantitative precipitation estimates produced by this model are well calibrated compared to APHRODITE. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Development in South Asia)
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900 KiB  
Article
Spatial and Temporal Variability of Rainfall in the Gandaki River Basin of Nepal Himalaya
by Jeeban Panthi, Piyush Dahal, Madan Lall Shrestha, Suman Aryal, Nir Y. Krakauer, Soni M. Pradhanang, Tarendra Lakhankar, Ajay K. Jha, Mohan Sharma and Ramchandra Karki
Climate 2015, 3(1), 210-226; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli3010210 - 5 Mar 2015
Cited by 99 | Viewed by 20814
Abstract
Landslides, floods, and droughts are recurring natural disasters in Nepal related to too much or too little water. The summer monsoon contributes more than 80% of annual rainfall, and rainfall spatial and inter-annual variation is very high. The Gandaki River, one of the [...] Read more.
Landslides, floods, and droughts are recurring natural disasters in Nepal related to too much or too little water. The summer monsoon contributes more than 80% of annual rainfall, and rainfall spatial and inter-annual variation is very high. The Gandaki River, one of the three major rivers of Nepal and one of the major tributaries of the Ganges River, covers all agro-ecological zones in the central part of Nepal. Time series tests were applied for different agro-ecological zones of the Gandaki River Basin (GRB) for rainfall trends of four seasons (pre-monsoon, monsoon, post-monsoon and winter) from 1981 to 2012. The non-parametric Mann-Kendall and Sen’s methods were used to determine the trends. Decadal anomalies relative to the long-term average were analyzed using the APHRODITE precipitation product. Trends in number of rainy days and timing of the monsoon were also analyzed. We found that the post-monsoon, pre-monsoon and winter rainfalls are decreasing significantly in most of the zones but monsoon rainfall is increasing throughout the basin. In the hill region, the annual rainfall is increasing but the rainy days do not show any trend. There is a tendency toward later departure of monsoon from Nepal, indicating an increase in its duration. These seasonally and topographically variable trends may have significant impacts for the agriculture and livestock smallholders that form the majority of the population in the GRB. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Development in South Asia)
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