Under different climate change scenarios, the current study was planned to simulate runoff due to snowmelt in the Lidder River catchment in the Himalayan region. A basic degree-day model, the Snowmelt-Runoff Model (SRM), was utilized to assess the hydrological consequences of change in the climate. The performance of the SRM model during calibration and validation was assessed using volume difference (Dv) and coefficient of determination (R2). The Dv was found to be 11.7, −10.1, −11.8, 1.96, and 8.6 in 2009–2014, respectively, while the respective R2 was 0.96, 0.92, 0.95, 0.90, and 0.94. The Dv and R2 values indicate that the simulated snowmelt runoff closely agrees with the observed values. The simulated findings were assessed under three different climate change scenarios: (a) an increase in precipitation by +20%, (b) a temperature rise of +2 °C, and (c) a temperature rise of +2 °C with a 20% increase in snow cover. In scenario (b), the simulated results showed that runoff increased by 53% in summer (April–September). In contrast, the projected increased discharge for scenarios (a) and (c) was 37% and 67%, respectively. The SRM efficiently forecasts future water supplies due to snowmelt runoff in high elevation, data-scarce mountain environments.

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Soil moisture deficit is an essential element in the estimation of irrigation demands, both spatially and temporarily. The determination of temporal and spatial variations of soil moisture in a river basin is challenging in many aspects; however, distributed hydrological modelling with remote sensing inputs is an effective way to determine soil moisture. In this research, a water demand module was developed for a satellite-based National Hydrological Model—India (NHM-I) to estimate distributed irrigation demands based on soil moisture deficits. The NHM-I is a conceptual distributed model that was explicitly developed to utilize the products from remote sensing satellites. MOD13Q1.5 data were used in this study to classify paddy and irrigated dry crops. Along with the above data, the DEM, Leaf Area Index, FAO soil map, and crop characteristics data were also used as inputs. The NHM-I with water demand module was evaluated in the Damodar river basin, India, from 2009 to 2018. The integrated NHM-I model simulated the irrigation demands effectively with remote sensing data. The temporal analysis reveals that soil moisture deficits in the Kharif season varied annually from 2009 to 2018; however, soil moisture deficits in the Rabi season were almost constant. The 50% Allowable Moisture Depletion (AMD-50) scenario can reduce the irrigation demand of 1966 MCM compared to the Zero Allowable Moisture Depletion (AMD-0) scenario. The highest annual irrigation demand (8923 MCM) under the AMD-50 scenario occurred in the 2015–2016 season, while the lowest (6344 MCM) happened in 2013–2014 season. With a new water demand module and remote sensing inputs, the NHM-I will provide a platform to assess spatial and temporal irrigation demands and soil moisture.

Soil is the upper layer of earth and shows adaptable physical, chemical and hydrological properties. The particle size of any soil is an important part of soil and sediment characterization of the watershed. The soil textural distribution information in a watershed is important for soil characteristics determination, agriculture crop production, irrigation planning and management of soil resources. However, soil texture information acquired through manual field survey and particle size analysis is expensive and time consuming. Considering this study was carried out to know the particle size characteristics of Patiala-Ki-Rao watershed in Shivalik Foot-hills of Punjab. Particle size analysis was determined from 50 soil samples and interpolated in Geographic Information System (GIS) software using Inverse Distance Weighing (IDW) method. It gives the micro level particle size information at accurate scale. This information will helpful for proper soil management and sustainable livelihood of the inhabitants in the watershed.