Effects of Climate Change on Irrigation Water Quality

Abstract

Irrigation water quality is increasingly vulnerable to the climate change. Factors responsible for the climate change like CO2 emission, CH4 emission, industrialization, increasing population, and anthropogenic activates impacting water quality by the addition of heavy metals, pesticides, organic pollutants and others sedimentation. Climatic conditions like precipitation, temperature, floods, droughts impacting irrigation water quality. Quality parameters of water like micronutrients, pathogen, pH, dissolved oxygen is directly influenced by climatic condition, like rainfall, temperature, floods, and drought. Drought and floods and increasing temperature are projected to negatively impact water quality. Quality and availability of water is vulnerable to change in rainfall patterns. Flood increase water pollution by deteriorating ground and surface water resources. Floods speed up runoff in urban region and bring huge toxic pollutants into the freshwater resources and deteriorate its quality. Large proportion of industrial contaminants are bringing to the rivers which contaminate irrigation water quality and make unfit for use. High proportion of heavy metal like lead, Cd etc. contaminate irrigation water quality and as results affect crop growth. Quality of fresh water is also affected by drought because of less availability of water to dilute the concentration of contaminates in the waters. In draught condition people are compelled to use that contaminated water for self-use and for their crops and animals which leads to several disease in their plants and animals. The practice of using clean water for both drinking and irrigation is necessary for the health life of inhabitant of country. Rainfall also affect irrigation water quality. During the season of monsoon rainfall, the rainfall deteriorates water quality because of the addition of organic pollutants, pathogens, and pollutants mixing with irrigation and drinking water resources during the season of monsoon rainfall. Higher rainfall transports more contaminants from one area into another area and degrade the water quality. In case of low rainfall condition, availability of water is low to dilute contaminated water resources. Water quality are also decrease with increase in temperature because of low discharge, stability of temperature, higher sedimentation of phosphorus and other nutrients. Increase in temperature with low discharge leads to increase growth of microorganism which deteriorate water quality. Increase in water temperature affecting biochemical processes occurring in water reservoirs. Global warming can influence concentration of oxygen in water reservoir. Increase in temperature will negatively affected water quality.