Future contribution of snow and glacier melt to river flow: Projected total flow and average discharge by 2041–2050, RCP 4.5 cold-wet case

Description

Depending on the stream flow composition (glacial melt, snow melt, rainfall, baseflow), different rivers within each of the basins will respond differently to climate change. Currently, the peak discharges within the upper Ganges, upper Brahmaputra, upper Salween and upper Mekong basins are all directly related to the peak in rainfall during the monsoon season. Within the upper Indus basin, the Indus river is currently dominated by temperature driven glacier melt, which is at its maximum during summer when the river flow peaks. However, the Kabul river is currently snow-dominated and river flow peaks during the spring months.