Impact of climate changes on the hydrological regime of Teeb River, Missan Governorate, South of Iraq

Abstract EN

This study investigates the applicability of the two-parameter climate elasticity of stream flow index to assess the impact of global warming on regional hydrology of Teeb river watershed, south of Iraq.

The results indicate that the stream flow response to rainfall and temperature anomalies exhibits a non-linear relationship.

A 50 % rainfall increase in the Teeb watershed results in a 10 % increase in stream flow at mean temperature, but no increase in stream flow for temperature increases of 1.5 ˚C.

A 20 % rainfall decrease results in a (20-30 %) decrease in stream flow at mean temperature but only 10 % decrease in stream flow if the temperature increases 1.5 ˚C.

Results also indicate that the stream flow elasticity for climate changes is a useful index to assess the sensitivity of stream flow to both precipitation and temperature departure.

Water resource issues in the Teeb watershed are likely to be more critical if the adopted climate changes scenarios are correct.