Water bankruptcy calls for water accounting, Pg12

Key Highlights:

• A recent UN report highlights that climate change is worsening the water crisis, leading to "water bankruptcy" in many regions.
• Rising temperatures disrupt rainfall, causing erratic river flows and extreme weather events like floods and droughts.
• Himalayan regions such as Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir are experiencing a snow drought due to weakened western disturbances.
• The UN report advocates for transparent water accounting, aquifer protection, and equitable water distribution.

Detailed Insights:

• The UN report emphasizes that the interconnectedness of basins through trade, migration, and weather means that water bankruptcy in one area can increase local and international tensions.
• Erratic precipitation in the Himalayas, intensified over the past five years, negatively impacts agriculture, hydropower, and the timing of river flows, according to an IIT-Mandi study.
• Traditional water management focuses on supply, but there's a growing emphasis on recharging aquifers, rainwater harvesting, and water-efficient crops, though these initiatives are secondary to supply-side measures.
• Early snowfall melts slowly, providing a steady water supply to rivers, while late snowfall melts quickly, reducing the soil's ability to benefit from its moisture-replenishing quality.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Water Bankruptcy: A crisis where water resources are insufficient to meet the demands of a region or country, leading to economic and social instability.
• Western Disturbances: Weather systems originating in the Mediterranean region that bring winter precipitation to the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent.
• Aquifer: An underground layer of permeable rock, sediment, or soil that holds and transmits groundwater.