Assessment of Climate Change and People's Perception on Climate Change and its Impacts in Solu Khola Catchment of the Mt. Everest Region of Eastern Nepal

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Climate change is a real occurring phenomenon worldwide which has first order impacts on water resources because of its direct connectedness with the components of hydrological cycle. This study attempts to assess the extent of climate change impacts at catchment scale which lies at the southern slope of Himalayas i.e. Mt. Everest Region primarily through the vision and experiences of local people residing in that area for years and directly witnessing the changes. Impact assessment was performed through analysis of meteorological data and assessment of people’s perception on changes. People’s perception was studied through generalized questionnaire survey of 90 households and key informants interview. The study was carried out in May 2013. The results depicted rise in temperature in the study area in the recent years in comparison to the past years, with highest temperature increase in winter season. Precipitation showed increasing trend. Winter precipitation had the declining trend but total annual precipitation showed increasing trend. In contrast, total number of rainy days was decreasing. Most of the households in the catchment area were dependent upon spring sources of water, which was mostly affected by the consequences of climate change in terms of decrease in quantity of supply, early drying up as well as late emergence. Other perceived impacts were increased intensity of natural hazards (agreed by 83% of the respondents), decreased intensity, frequency and duration of snowfall (perceived by 87% in Salleri), decrease in flow of Solu Khola (perceived by 49% of the respondents) etc. Apart from all these, the impacts were non uniform in distribution. The VDCs lying in the downstream stretch of Solu Khola were much affected than those in the upstream section. The results from this research can be used to raise awareness on extent of climatic changes in the area as well as support for local decision making.