Flow regimes of Himalayan rivers of Nepal: nature and spatial patterns

Hannah, David M.; Kansakar, Sunil R.; Gerrard, A. J.; Rees, Gwyn

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2004.10.018

Cited by 97 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The KRB contains the Mahabharata range (1500-2700 m.a.s.l), a barrier to monsoon circulation which helps to uplift the moisture laden air from lowland to high altitude areas leading rainfall in some areas [45]. This results very high precipitation in several pocket area [46] and local orographic effects are seen in the spatial precipitation pattern (Figure 4). Though precipitation amount is comparatively less in the higher altitude but some stations like Maina Gaun present at altitude 2000 m.a.s.l (~2000 mm/year) and Musikot at 2100 m.a.s.l (~2200 mm/year) have comparatively higher precipitation than surrounding stations due to their unique locations.…”

Section: Precipitation Pattern and Trendmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydro-Climatic Variability in the Karnali River Basin of Nepal Himalaya

Khatiwada

Panthi²,

Shrestha

et al. 2016

Climate

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Abstract:Global climate change has local implications. Focusing on datasets from the topographicallychallenging Karnali river basin in Western Nepal, this research provides an overview of hydro-climatic parameters that have been observed during 1981-2012. The spatial and temporal variability of temperature and precipitation were analyzed in the basin considering the seven available climate stations and 20 precipitation stations distributed in the basin. The non-parametric Mann-Kendall test and Sen's method were used to study the trends in climate data. Results show that the average precipitation in the basin is heterogeneous, and more of the stations trend are decreasing. The precipitation shows decreasing trend by 4.91 mm/year, i.e., around 10% on average. Though the increasing trends were observed in both minimum and maximum temperature, maximum temperature trend is higher than the minimum temperature and the maximum temperature trend during the pre-monsoon season is significantly higher (0.08˝C/year). River discharge and precipitation observations were analyzed to understand the rainfall-runoff relationship. The peak discharge (August) is found to be a month late than the peak precipitation (July) over the basin. Although the annual precipitation in most of the stations shows a decreasing trend, there is constant river discharge during the period 1981-2010.

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Section: Precipitation Pattern and Trendmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydro-Climatic Variability in the Karnali River Basin of Nepal Himalaya

Khatiwada

Panthi²,

Shrestha

et al. 2016

Climate

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“…The glaciological and hydrological regimes of the HKH and the potential impacts of climate change therein have been recently assessed in the literature (e.g., Aizen et al 2002;Hannah et al 2005;Kaser et al 2010). Among others, Bocchiola et al (2011) modeled future hydrological flows in the poorly gauged Shigar River, flowing at the toe of the K2 peak.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Future Hydrological Regimes in the Upper Indus Basin: A Case Study from a High-Altitude Glacierized Catchment

Soncini

Bocchiola

Confortola

et al. 2015

Journal of Hydrometeorology

104

124

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The mountain regions of the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and Himalayas (HKH) are considered Earth's ''third pole,'' and water from there plays an essential role for downstream populations. The dynamics of glaciers in Karakoram are complex, and in recent decades the area has experienced unchanged ice cover, despite rapid decline elsewhere in the world (the Karakoram anomaly). Assessment of future water resources and hydrological variability under climate change in this area is greatly needed, but the hydrology of these high-altitude catchments is still poorly studied and little understood. This study focuses on a particular watershed, the Shigar River with the control section at Shigar (about 7000 km 2 ), nested within the upper Indus basin and fed by seasonal melt from two major glaciers (Baltoro and Biafo). Hydrological, meteorological, and glaciological data gathered during 3 years of field campaigns (2011-13) are used to set up a hydrological model, providing a depiction of instream flows, snowmelt, and ice cover thickness. The model is used to assess changes of the hydrological cycle until 2100, via climate projections provided by three state-of-the-art global climate models used in the recent IPCC Fifth Assessment Report under the representative concentration pathway (RCP) emission scenarios RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5. Under all RCPs, future flows are predicted to increase until midcentury and then to decrease, but remaining mostly higher than control run values. Snowmelt is projected to occur earlier, while the ice melt component is expected to increase, with ice thinning considerably and even disappearing below 4000 m MSL until 2100.

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“…Nepal's low and middle foothills receive large amounts of rain from about July to September as part of the South Asian monsoon (summer rainy season), but populations there may experience water shortages during the rest of the year [5,6]. While the Himalayan peaks and the Tibetan plateau to the north are in a relatively dry "rain shadow" [7], winter snow at high elevations nevertheless contributes to spring and summer streamflow [8]. Precipitation amount and timing impact key regional hazards, such as flooding and landslides [9][10][11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating Satellite Products for Precipitation Estimation in Mountain Regions: A Case Study for Nepal

et al. 2013

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Precipitation in mountain regions is often highly variable and poorly observed, limiting abilities to manage water resource challenges. Here, we evaluate remote sensing and ground station-based gridded precipitation products over Nepal against weather station precipitation observations on a monthly timescale. We find that the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) 3B-43 precipitation product exhibits little mean bias and reasonable skill in giving precipitation over Nepal. Compared to station observations, the TRMM precipitation product showed an overall Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency of 0

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Flow regimes of Himalayan rivers of Nepal: nature and spatial patterns

Cited by 97 publications

References 21 publications

Hydro-Climatic Variability in the Karnali River Basin of Nepal Himalaya

Hydro-Climatic Variability in the Karnali River Basin of Nepal Himalaya

Future Hydrological Regimes in the Upper Indus Basin: A Case Study from a High-Altitude Glacierized Catchment

Evaluating Satellite Products for Precipitation Estimation in Mountain Regions: A Case Study for Nepal

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