7. Potential Impacts of Climatic Changes and Human Activity on Water Quality

The term “climate change” refers to the changes in weather patterns brought on by an increase in the atmospheric concentration of gases that absorb heat. In response to human activity, CO₂ levels in the atmosphere have steadily increased, with the associated “greenhouse” effect possibly altering future climate on both global and regional scales. The greenhouse effect’s climatic and hydrological consequences have been studied for some time, but researches on water quality have just lately begun. The quality of water may be influenced in a number of ways. Securing access to high-quality water for its numerous purposes becomes more challenging and pertinent as a result of climate change’s impact on long-standing, conventional methods of managing water resources and disruptions to the hydrologic cycle. Higher water temperatures may hasten biological metabolic processes while also affecting stratification, sediment nutrient release, and ice conditions in water bodies. Changes in precipitation volume and distribution will affect runoff conditions. Changes in runoff will affect nutrient loads from non-point sources as well as the residence duration of water system. All of the aforementioned elements may have a substantial impact on the eutrophication of standing waters. Higher CO₂ levels in the atmosphere may have a direct influence on the inorganic carbon system of waters’ chemical equilibrium processes. Groundwater is a vital resource, which is used for a range of human activities as well as maintaining natural flows in rivers and other ecosystems. However, a number of human activities are rapidly deteriorating these limited resources, and a variety of natural (geogenic) water quality issues limit its use in some areas.