Increased risk of low water quality, eutrophication, and fish kills under warming in a highly industrialized stretch of the Ganga River

Abstract: Extensive industrial pollution, agricultural runoff, and disposal of untreated sewage into the river have made Kanpur the most critical water pollution hotspot of the Ganga River. This study assesses the water quality with climate change for the mid and end of the 21st century and the resulting risk of low water quality, eutrophication, and fish kill in this industrialized stretch passing through Kanpur. For this assessment, climate projections from an ensemble of 20 GCMs for the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios are used to drive a hydrological model HEC-HMS coupled with the water quality model QUAL2K. The water quality parameters considered are dissolved oxygen, BOD, ammonia, nitrate, total nitrogen, organic, inorganic, total phosphorous, and faecal coliform. The simulation results show water quality degradation in the mid-21st century, improved by the end of the 21st century due to increased streamflow. The risk of eutrophication and fish kill is found to increase with climate change due to the more occurrence of low flow events.

Date/Time
Date(s) - 19/04/2022
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm