Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad, 45550, Pakistan.
Environ Monit Assess. 2019 Jan 5;191(2):51. doi: 10.1007/s10661-018-7184-3.
The Indus River, the lifeline of Pakistan's economy and its tributaries, derives most of water flow from the upper Indus basin comprised of Karakorum, Himalaya, and Hindu Kush mountain ranges, thus making this area important in climate change studies. We analyzed the records of climatic variables including temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity (RH) from two weather stations (Gilgit and Skardu) of upper Indus basin region from 1953 to 2006. To observe the trends of climate change, the selected time was divided into two temporal half periods consisting of 27 years each (1953-1979 and 1980-2006). The overall mean temperature (OMT) was decreased by - 0.137 °C in Gilgit, while an increase of 0.63 °C was observed in Skardu during the later period compared to the previous one. The mean minimum temperature (MMT) was found to decrease while mean maximum temperature (MXT) showed non-significant changes during the summer at both locations. However, there was an evidence of spring and winter warming at both locations due to increase in the MXT. The precipitation data showed large interannual variation at both locations. Significant increases in the morning relative humidity (RH) were observed during summer and autumn months at Skardu and throughout the year at Gilgit, while the evening RH increased during the same seasons at both stations. Significant increase in MXT and OMT during spring and winter months at higher elevation (Skardu) may have serious implications for the deposition and melting of seasonal snowpack with impacts on local livelihoods and river flow.
印度河是巴基斯坦经济的生命线及其支流，其大部分水流来自印度河上游流域，该流域由喀喇昆仑山脉、喜马拉雅山脉和兴都库什山脉组成，因此该地区在气候变化研究中具有重要意义。我们分析了印度河上游流域两个气象站（吉尔吉特和斯卡都）的气候变量记录，包括温度、降水和相对湿度（RH），时间跨度为 1953 年至 2006 年。为了观察气候变化趋势，所选时间被分为两个时间半周期，每个周期包含 27 年（1953-1979 年和 1980-2006 年）。与前一个时期相比，吉尔吉特的整体平均温度（OMT）下降了 0.137°C，而斯卡都的平均温度上升了 0.63°C。在两个地点，夏季的平均最低温度（MMT）下降，而平均最高温度（MXT）没有明显变化。然而，由于 MXT 的增加，两个地点都有春冬变暖的迹象。降水数据在两个地点都显示出很大的年际变化。在斯卡都，夏季和秋季的早晨相对湿度（RH）显著增加，而在吉尔吉特，全年的 RH 都在增加，而在两个站点，夏季和秋季的傍晚 RH 也在增加。在高海拔地区（斯卡都），春季和冬季 MXT 和 OMT 的显著增加可能会对季节性积雪的沉积和融化产生严重影响，从而影响当地生计和河流流量。
