Presenter
Dr. Jinjun You, China Institute of Water Resources & Hydropower Research
Co-author(s)
Mr. Xin Liu, China Institute of Water Resources & Hydropower Research
Dr. Zhenzhen Ma, China Institute of Water Resources & Hydropower Research
Sub-theme
3. Building Resilience for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation
Topic
3-1. Prevention and mitigation of extreme weather induced water-related disasters
Body
Due to climate change, the frequency of hydrological extremes increases gradually accompanying with greater impacts. In China, the severe drought events also show an increasing trend and various characteristics affected by both hydrology and water development in different regions. Analysis of the comprehensive characteristics of draught is significant for strengthening security of water supply and adaptation strategies against climate change. As the largest river basin in China, the Yangtze River has obviously different hydrological characteristics in upstream and downstream areas, as well as water exploitation. Water allocation in the river basin is crucial to satisfy major water demands and resist drought, causing regionally difference water balance. The capacity of water supply and drought resisting could be illustrated through the regional water balance in different hydrological year. Water resources, water demand and hydraulic engineering are major facts to dominate the water balance and capacity of drought resisting. In this paper, these factors are integrated as comprehensive indicator through a water balance analysis model. The water balance mode is established for the Yangtze River Basin to analyze the regional characteristics of drought and responding potential. The major factors of hydrology, water demand and hydraulic engineering are considered based on relationship of water allocation. The long-term series yearly hydrological data are simulated to reveal the possibility and difference of extreme drought events in different regions, as well as the simultaneity of space and time. Based on the simulation water consumption and effects of water storage under different climatic conditions, regional water balance and the potential to resist drought extremes with water storage and possible water diversion are analyzed, thus the changing characteristics with water development of drought are holistically portrayed. The reasonable countermeasures of water resources allocation are put forward according to the potential analysis. Finally, the 2022 drought event in the Yangtze River Basin are taken as an example to analysis features of regional drought and the rationality of corresponding water resources allocation measures.