Abstract
An analysis of current trends in water availability in the Mexican border state of Sonora is presented to illustrate what may be faced under climate change conditions. Precipitation, streamflow and even dam levels data are examined to estimate what changes have been experienced in recent decades. There are indications that the more frequent occurrence of El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events have resulted in more winter precipitation and consequently in a slight increase in water availability in northwestern Mexico. However, water demands grow much faster than such trends in water availability, mainly due to a rapid increase in population in urban areas and in socio-economic activities such as those related to agriculture, industry and power generation. Some strategies to adapt or mitigate climate change conditions are proposed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aguilar, G: 1995. Human Settlements. Final Report. Country Study: Mexico. (in press).
Gay, C. 1995. Prólogo. Proceedings México ante el Cambio Climático. Segundo Taller del Estudio de País México, INE, USCSP, UNAM. 5-7.
Hernández, M. E. 1995. Drought Severity. Final Report. Country Study: Mexico. (in press).
INEGI, 1995. Perfil Estadistico de la Población Mexicana. Una Aproximación a las Inequidades Socioeconómicas, Regionales y de Género. México.
INEGI. 1994. Estadísticas Históricas de México. CD-ROM. ISBN 970-13-0257-5.
INEGI. 1994. San Luis Río Colorado. Estado de Sonora. Cuaderno Estadístico Municipal.
INEGI. 1995. San Luis Río Colorado. Estado de Sonora. Cuaderno Estadístico Municipal. Edición 1994. México.
INEGI. 1996. Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Resultados Preliminares. Conteo de Población y Vivienda. México.
Liverman, D. 1995. ‘Climate change impacts and vulnerability in Mexico’. Proceedings México ante el Cambio Climático. Segundo Taller del Estudio de País México. INE, USCSP, UNAM. 113-127.
Luch, et al, 1991: ‘Variación climática y oceanográfica global: sus efectos en el Noroeste Mexicano’, CIENCIA y desarrollo, XVII, 98, 79–88
Magaña, V., Conde, C., Sánchez, O., Gay, C. 1995. Climate Scenarios. Final Report. Country Study: Mexico. (in press).
Magaña, V., and A. Quintanar, 1995: ‘On the use of General Circulation models to study regional climate. 2nd UNAM-CRAY’ Conference on Supercomputing. Mexico City. June 1995.
Magaña, V., C. Conde, O. Sánchez, C. Gay. 1997. ‘Assessment of current and future regional climate scenarios for Mexico.’ Clim. Res. 9(2): 107-114.
Magaña, J. Amador and S Medina. 1998b. ‘The midsummer drought over Mexico and Central America.’ J. Clim. (to appear)
Mendoza, V., Maderey, L., Villanueva, E. 1995. Hydrology. Final Report. Country Study: Mexico. (in press).
Oropeza, O. 1995. Desertification. Final Report. Country Study: Mexico. (in press).
Mundo M.D., and P. Martínez-Austria, 1993: ‘Cambio climático: Posibles consecuencias y algunas sugerencias para disminuir su efecto en México’, Ingeniería Hidráulica en México/enero-abril, 1993, 14-28
Mundo Molina, M. D., 1996: ‘Efectos potenciales del cambio climático en los recursos hídricos del valle del Yaqui, Sonora.’ Ingeniería Hidráulica en México / mayo-agosto, 1996. 79-85.
Rodríguez-Vallejo, J. 1990. México y su Agricultura. Colegio de Postgraduados. Montecillo, Edo. de México.
Villers, L., Trejo, I. 1995. Forest Ecosystems. Final Report. Country Study: Mexico. (in press).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Magaña, V.O., Conde, C. Climate and Freshwater Resources in Northern Mexico: Sonora, a Case Study. Environ Monit Assess 61, 167–185 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006399025537
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006399025537