Modelling of long-term effects of climate change on irrigation water requirement in the Gaza Strip, Palestine

Abstract

The agricultural sector in the Gaza Strip is affected by climate change, noting the increase in demand for irrigation requirements. Fresh water in the Gaza Strip is predicted to face an increasing deficit in the coming years. The aim of the current research is to predict the effects of climate change on the irrigation requirements for common crops cultivated in the Gaza Strip. The predicted temperature and precipitation by SimCLIM model for the years 2020, 2050 and 2080 were used as inputs for the CROPWAT model to calculate irrigation requirements of the studied crops. The results of the CROPWAT model showed that the irrigation requirement for olive, citrus, date palm, grapes, guava and alfalfa currently were 553, 577, 958, 530, 2345 and 813 mm/a, and it will be 614, 716, 1132, 660, 2561 and 928 mm/a in 2020. In 2050, it is estimated to be 655, 765, 1198, 704, 2717 and 998 mm/a, while in 2080, irrigation requirement will be 712, 855, 1331, 787, 2970 and 1103 mm/a. It is concluded that climate change is an essential indicator to be considered for the future water resources planning in the Gaza Strip.