Patterns of outdoor exposure to heat in three South Asian cities.

Low socio-economic status has been widely recognized as a significant factor in enhancing a person's vulnerability to climate change including vulnerability to changes in temperature. Yet, little is known about exposure to heat within cities in developing countries, and even less about exposure within informal neighbourhoods in those countries. This paper presents an assessment of exposure to outdoor heat in the South Asian cities Delhi, Dhaka, and Faisalabad.

Flexible Strategies for Coping with Rainfall Variability: Seasonal Adjustments in Cropped Area in the Ganges Basin.

One of the main manifestations of climate change will be increased rainfall variability. How to deal with this in agriculture will be a major societal challenge. In this paper we explore flexibility in land use, through deliberate seasonal adjustments in cropped area, as a specific strategy for coping with rainfall variability.

Climate change and waterborne diarrhoea in northern India: impacts and adaptation strategies.

Although several studies show the vulnerability of human health to climate change, a clear comprehensive quantification of the increased health risks attributable to climate change is lacking. Even more complicated are assessments of adaptation measures for this sector. We discuss the impact of climate change on diarrhoea as a representative of a waterborne infectious disease affecting human health in the Ganges basin of northern India.

Adaptation to changing water resource availability in Northern India with respect to Himalayan Glacier retreat and changing monsoons using participatory approaches.

Changes in rainfall patterns and temperatures are likely to affect water resources in India. Also, changes in the extreme events will have direct implications on life and property. Adapting to the adverse effects of climate change becomes critical to avoid huge material and immaterial damages.

Snowmelt contributions to discharge of the Ganges.

Himalayan headwaters supply large quantities of runoff derived from snowmelt and monsoon rainfall to the Ganges River. Actual snowmelt contribution to discharge in the Ganges remains conjectural under both present and future climatic conditions. As snowmelt is likely to be perturbed through climatic warming, four hydrological models, VIC, JULES, LPJmL and SWAT, appropriate for coupling with regional climate models, were used to provide a baseline estimate of snowmelt contribution to flow at seasonal and annual timescales.

Regional projections of North Indian climate for adaptation studies.

Adaptation is increasingly important for regions around the world where large changes in climate could have an impact on populations and industry. The Brahmaputra-Ganges catchments have a large population, a main industry of agriculture and a growing hydro-power industry, making the region susceptible to changes in the Indian Summer Monsoon, annually the main water source. The HighNoon project has completed four regional climate model simulations for India and the Himalaya at high resolution (25km) from 1960 to 2100 to provide an ensemble of simulations for the region.

Comparative study of model prediction of diffuse nutrient losses in response to changes in agricultural practices.

This article presents a comparative study of modelled changes in nutrient losses from two European catchments caused by modifications in agricultural practices. The purpose was not to compare the actual models used, but rather to assess the uncertainties a manager may be faced with after receiving decision support from consultants using different models. Seven modelling teams were given the same data about two catchments and their management characteristics and were asked to model the same changes in management practices using the model of their own choice.

Nitrogen and phosphorus retention in surface waters: an inter-comparison of predictions by catchment models of different complexity.

Nitrogen and phosphorus retention estimates in streams and standing water bodies were compared for four European catchments by a series of catchment-scale modelling tools of different complexity, ranging from a simple, equilibrium input-output type to dynamic, physical-based models: source apportionment, MONERIS, EveNFlow, TRK, SWAT, and NL-CAT. The four catchments represent diverse climate, hydrology, and nutrient loads from diffuse and point sources in Norway, the UK, Italy, and the Czech Republic. The models' retention values varied largely, with tendencies towards higher scatters for phosphorus than for nitrogen, and for catchments with lakes (Vansjø-Hobøl, Zelivka) compared to mostly or entirely lakeless catchments (Ouse or Enza, respectively).

Basin characteristics and nutrient losses: the EUROHARP catchment network perspective.

The EC-funded EUROHARP project studies the harmonisation of modelling tools to quantify nutrient losses from diffuse sources. This paper describes a set of study areas used in the project from geographical conditions, to land use and land management, geological and hydro-geological perspectives. The status of data availability throughout Europe in relation to the modelling requirements is presented.