Articles | Volume 26, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-861-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-861-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
17 Feb 2022
Research article |
| 17 Feb 2022
| 17 Feb 2022
Future upstream water consumption and its impact on downstream water availability in the transboundary Indus Basin
Wouter J. Smolenaars
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Water Systems and Global Change Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, 6708 PB, the Netherlands
Sanita Dhaubanjar
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Utrecht, 3584 CB, the Netherlands
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu, 44700, Nepal
Muhammad K. Jamil
Water Systems and Global Change Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, 6708 PB, the Netherlands
Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad, 44690, Pakistan
Arthur Lutz
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Utrecht, 3584 CB, the Netherlands
Walter Immerzeel
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Utrecht, 3584 CB, the Netherlands
Fulco Ludwig
Water Systems and Global Change Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, 6708 PB, the Netherlands
Hester Biemans
Water Systems and Global Change Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, 6708 PB, the Netherlands
Water and Food Research Group, Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
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Short summary
The arid plains of the lower Indus Basin rely heavily on the water provided by the mountainous upper Indus. Rapid population growth in the upper Indus is expected to increase the water that is consumed there. This will subsequently reduce the water that is available for the downstream plains, where the population and water demand are also expected to grow. In future, this may aggravate tensions over the division of water between the countries that share the Indus Basin.
The arid plains of the lower Indus Basin rely heavily on the water provided by the mountainous...
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