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.

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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

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air temperature, climate change, precipitation, river runoff, water resources

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