Climate change may turn India’s rivers into hostile environments for aquatic life by 2070-2100, scientists warned in a new study.
River water temperatures may increase during the period and dissolved oxygen levels may decrease, the study published in Scientific Reports has predicted.
Under a high-emissions scenario, river water temperatures are expected to climb 7 degrees Celsius in summer, reaching close to 35°C by 2070-2100, the report noted.
An increase in air temperature aggravates river water temperatures, Rehana Shaik, assistant professor at the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Hyderabad and one of the authors of the study, told Down To Earth (DTE).
Dissolved oxygen levels can drop to 7.3 milligrams / litre of water from 7.9 mg / l at present under a high emissions scenario, the findings showed.
Aquatic organisms use dissolved oxygen to breathe. But oxygen becomes less soluble in warmer and polluted waters. The riverine species cannot survive for long when
— source downtoearth.org.in | Rohini Krishnamurthy | 23 Jun 2022