Water resources and regional climate change: Almaty metropolis case

Saniya Akhmetova ^a,b*, Svetlana Polyakova ^a, Kassym Duskayev ^a,

Aleksandr Chigrinets ^a

---

^a Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 71 Al-Farabi Ave., Almaty, 050040, Kazakhstan

^b Kazakh-German University, 111, Pushkin str., Almaty, 050010, Kazakhstan

*Email: akhmetova@dku.kz

Svetlana Polyakova: polse2468@gmail.com; Kassym Duskayev: kduskaev@gmail.com; Aleksandr Chigrinets: ch.al.georg@mail.ru 

https://doi.org/10.29258/CAJSCR/2023-R1.v2-2/69-84.eng

December 1, 2023

Abstract

Water resource vulnerability in urbanized areas due to the impact of climatic factors manifests a complex and urgent challenge, assessing which is of great scientific, social, and applied significance. The intensity and changes of the hydrological characteristics of urban water objects differ significantly from these of natural water bodies. The condition of water objects is the most important indicator of the overall ecological well-being of a metropolis. This research aimed to evaluate the current (1971-2020) climate change and its influence on water resources during the warm period of the year based on the example of Almaty Metropolis. The study showed an increase of air temperature (from 0.17°С/10 years up to 0.41°С/10 years) at all target weather stations, with the greatest change observed in foothill areas (Almaty Joint Hydrometeorological Station ). The observed precipitation change fell within the limits of mean multiyear values. The calculated basic hydrological characteristics of river runoff showed an increase since 1990s explained by air temperature and glacier melt trends. The article proposes certain recommendations on considering the influence of natural factors on Almaty’s water resources, keeping in my mind that water management affects many areas of human activity.

Download the Paper

Available in English

For citation: Akhmetova, S., Polyakova, S., Duskayev, K., Chigrinets, A. (2023). Water resources and regional climate change: Almaty metropolis case. Central Asian Journal of Sustainability and Climate Research.  https://doi.org/10.29258/CAJSCR/2023-R1.v2-2/69-84.eng

Rerefences

Almaty City Akimat (2019). Almaty City Development Strategy until 2050 [Strategiya razvitiya goroda Almaty do 2050 goda]. https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/almaty/documents/ details/344101?lang=ru. (in Russian)

Chigrinets, A.G. (2015). Surface water resources of the territory of Almaty City [Poverkhnostnyye vodnyye resursy territorii goroda Almaty]. Hydrometeorology and Ecology [Gidrometeorologiya i ekologiya] 2, 66-78 (in Russian)

Chigrinets, A.G., Mazur, L.P., Duskayev, K.K., Chigrinets, L.Yu., Akhmetova, S.T. (2019). Water Economy Balance of Almaty City. Journal of Ecological Engineering 3(20), 194-203. http://www.jeeng.net/ Water-Economy-Balance-of-the-Almaty-City,99783,0,2.html

European Environmental Agency, EEA (2017). Annual Report 2010 and Environmental Statement 2011 (ISSN 1561-2120). Copenhagen. https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/annual-report-2010/ download

Fazylov, A.R., Yergeshov, A.A., Kobuliyev, Z.V. (2017). The influence of climate change on the formation of river flow in the mountain-foothill zones of Central Asia [Vliyaniye izmeneniya klimata na formirovaniye stoka rek gorno-predgornykh zon Tsentral’noy Azii]. Water and Environmental Issues of Siberia and Central Asia. Water Resource Management Issues in Siberia and the Far East [Vodnyye i ekologicheskiye problemy Sibiri i Tsentral’noy Azii. Problemy upravleniya vodnymi resursami Sibiri i Dal’nego Vostoka] 4, 216-224. https://ecogosfond.kz/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ CA.D.241-Vlijanie-izmenenija-klimata-na-formirovanie-stoka.pdf. (in Russian)

Genina, M., Breitner Zuma, L., Umirbekov, A., Isayeva, G., Musagazhinova, A. (2011). Analysis of climate change adaptation activities in Central Asia. Needs, recommendations, practices [Analiz deyatel’nosti v oblasti adaptatsii k izmeneniyu klimata v Tsentral’noy Azii. Potrebnosti, rekomendatsii, praktiki]. Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Programme of the Central Asia Regional Environmental Centre (CAREC). https://carececo.org/upload/27.pdf. (in Russian)

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, IDMC (2017). Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID 2017), Norwegian Refugee Council. http://www.internal-displacement.org/global-report/ grid2017/pdfs/2017-GRID.pdf

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPPC (2007). Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, contribution of Working Group II to the 4th IPCC Assessment Report. https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/ar4_wg2_full_report.pdf

IPCC (2015). Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, contribution of Working Group II to the 5th IPCC Assessment Report. World Meteorological Organization, WMO. https:// www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/WGIIAR5-IntegrationBrochure_ru-1.pdf. (in Russian)

IPCC (2013). Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis, contribution of Working Group I to the 5th IPCC Assessment Report. https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2017/09/WG1AR5_ Frontmatter_FINAL.pdf

Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan, MEGNR of the RK (2022). 8th National Communication and 5th Biennial Report of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kazakhstan, Global Environmental Facility. https://www.undp.org/kazakhstan/publications/8th-national-communication-and-5th-biennial-report-republic-kazakhstan-un-framework-convention-climate-change

North Eurasia Climate Centre, NEACC (2018). Annual Summary Report on Climate Features and Change in 2017 for the Territory of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Institute of the Global Climate and Ecology under the Russian Federal Service on Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring and Russian Academy of Sciences. WMO’s NEACC. http://seakc-old.meteoinfo.ru/ images/seakc/monitoring/cis-climate-2017.pdf

Orlovsky, N.S., Sonn, I.S., Kostyanoi, A.G., Zhiltsov, S.S. (2019). Climate change and water resources of Central Asia [Izmeneniye klimata i vodnyye resursy Tsentral’noy Azii]. Bulletin of the Diplomatic Academy of the MFA of Russia. Russia and the World [Vestnik Diplomaticheskoy Akademii MID Rossii. Rossiya i mir] 1(19), 56-79. https://ecogosfond.kz/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ CA.D.255-Izmenenie-klimata-i-vodnye-resursy-Centralnoj-Azii.pdf. (in Russian)

Regional Centre of Hydrology, RCH (2009). The impact of climate change on water resources in Central Asia. Industry overview [Vliyaniye izmeneniya klimata na vodnyye resursy v Tsentral’noy Azii. Otraslevoy obzor]. Sector Report No. 6, Eurasian Development Bank. https://papers.ssrn.com/ sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4107899. (in Russian)

Salnikov, V., Turulina, G., Polyakova, S., Petrova, Y., Skakova, A. (2015). Climate change in Ka-zakhstan during the past 70 years. Quaternary International, 358, 77-82. https://www.sciencedirect.com/ science/article/abs/pii/S1040618214006557

Salnikov, V.G., Turulina, G.K., Talanov, E.A., Polyakova, S.E. (2018). Analysis of climate change in Kazakhstan over the past 75 years (Analiz izmeneniya klimata v Kazakhstane za posledniye 75 let). New Methods and Results of Landscape Research in Europe, Central Asia Asia and Siberia [Novyye metody i rezul’taty issledovaniy landshaftov v Yevrope, Tsentral’noy Azii i Sibiri] 1, 247-252 (in Russian)

Salnikov, V., Talanov, Y., Polyakova, S., Assylbekova, A., Kauazov, A., Bultekov, N., Musralino-va, G., Kissebayev, D., Beldeubayev, Y. (2023). An Assessment of the Present Trends in Temperature and Precipitation Extremes in Kazakhstan. Climate 11(2), 33. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli11020033

State Committee for Construction and Housing and Communal Sector of the Russian Federation, SC CHCS RF (2004). CR 33-101-2003 Determination of the main calculated hydrological characteristics [SP 33-101-2003 Opredeleniye osnovnykh raschetnykh gidrologicheskikh kharakteristik]. https:// files.stroyinf.ru/Data2/1/4294815/4294815038.pdf. (in Russian)

State Hydrological Institute, SHI (2009). Methodological recommendations for determining the cal-culated hydrological characteristics in the absence of hydrometric observations [Metodicheskiye rekomendatsii po opredeleniyu raschetnykh gidrologicheskikh kharakteristik pri otsutstvii dannykh gidrometricheskikh nablyudeniy]. Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, Federal Service of Russia for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring. http://www.hydrology.ru/sites/default/files/Books/gidro-2.pdf. (in Russian)

Vilesov, E.N. (2010). Climatic conditions of the city of Almaty [Klimaticheskiye usloviya goroda Almaty]. Almaty: LEM (in Russian)

Vilesov, E. N., Cherednichenko, V. S., Cherednichenko, Alexey V., Cherednichenko, Alexander V. (2013). Climate change in Almaty over the past 130 years [Izmeneniye klimata goroda Almaty za posledniye 130 let]. KazNU Bulletin. Ecological series [Vestnik KazNU. Seriya ekologicheskaya], 2/2(38), 74-83. https://pps.kaznu.kz/2/Main/FileShow2/8646/101/%20 359/750/%D0%A7%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%20 %B5%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%92%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%A1% D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87/2014/2. (in Russian)

World Meteorological Organization, WMO (2018). WMO Statement on the State of the Global Climate in 2017, WMO-No. 1212. https://library.wmo.int/idurl/4/56119

Zholdosheva, E. et al. (2017). Adaptation to climate change in mountainous areas of Central Asia [Adaptatsiya k izmeneniyu klimata v gornykh rayonakh Tsentral’noy Azii]. Series of reviews on adaptation in mountainous areas. UN – Environment [Seriya obzorov po adaptatsii v gornykh rayonakh. OON – okruzhayushchaya sreda]. https://www.weadapt.org/sites/weadapt.org/files/ centralasia_rus.pdf. (in Russian)