Adverse impacts of climate change in Maharlou Lake Basin, Iran

Climate change can alter the status quo of the world as we know today. Water resources may also be influenced by these plausible impacts. The common perception is that these changes may exacerbate the situation of water resources in arid and semi-arid regions, such as the Middle-East, which are experiencing mild to severe water stress due to limited water availability and growing water demands. In that spirit, this study aims to investigate the possible impacts of climate change on surface water in Maharlou Lake basin, Iran. Reportedly, this basin has already shown some symptoms of the water-related crisis, which highlights the importance of conducting climate change studies in this region. The CansESM2 model was employed to predict the basin’s climatic response under various climate change scenarios. The hydrologic response of the basin was, then, simulated using IHACRES. The results have demonstrated a 4% decrease in average annual rainfall, a 2% increase in average annual temperature, and, finally, a 24% decrease in average annual streamflow of the basin in the (2010-2099) time window. While the results suggest that recent water-related challenges in the basin might have caused by climate change, further in-depth studies are required to reveal the exact reasons