International Journal of Environment and Climate Change 10(3): 26-37, 2020; Article no.IJECC.55702 ISSN: 2581-8627 (Past name: British Journal of Environment & Climate Change, Past ISSN: 2231–4784) Climate Change Impacts on Water Quality of Water Bodies-A Review Eliud Salila1*, Mahendra Pal Sharma2 and Rajesh Singh3 1Department of Environmental Science Management, School of Environmental Science and Technology, Ardhi University, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. 2Department of Hydro and Renewable Energy, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, India. 3Environmental Hydrology Division (EHD), National Institute of Hydrology Roorkee, Roorkee, India. Authors’ contributions This work was carried out in collaboration among all authors. Authors MPS and RS conceptualized and designed the study. Author ES managed the literature collection, material preparation and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Article Information DOI: 10.9734/IJECC/2020/v10i330185 Editor(s): (1) Dr. Anthony R. Lupo, University of Missouri, USA. Reviewers: (1) Haruna Saidu, Gombe State University, Nigeria. (2) Jane A. Chukwudebelu, Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi, Nigeria. Complete Peer review History: http://www.sdiarticle4.com/review-history/55702 Received 24 January 2020 Review Article Accepted 30 March 2020 Published 04 April 2020 ABSTRACT The impacts of climate change on water quality of water bodies are associated with the climatic extreme events (heavy rainfall and flood, heat, drought, wildfires, cyclones, hurricane, super storms) as the major drivers that require knowledge of understanding. Most research studies present the role of climate change in threatening water quality, risks on drinking water and contributions of catchment in water pollution, but less attention has directed to specific sensitive water quality parameters, appropriate methodologies, risks on ecosystem and managerial practice to reduce the impacts. This review highlight the of effect climate change on surface water bodies based on recent literatures on the impacts of climate change on water quality and promote practical opportunity for better management of these impacts. We conclude that consideration of climate change preparedness plan in catchments is the best option to adopt for minimization of climate change impacts on water quality of water bodies. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Corresponding author: E-mail: [email protected]; Salila et al.; IJECC, 10(3): 26-37, 2020; Article no.IJECC.55702 Keywords: Climate change; water quality impairment; water quality models; extreme events; runoff. - 1. INTRODUCTION monthly runoff, NO3 and organic nitrogen loads are decreased by 27, 18 and 13.5% in Golgol Climate change, a complex phenomenon slowly River (Iran) waters due to climate change [12]. changing over millennia, is resulting in significant Apart from water quality impairment, the impacts changes observed during the last two decades. of climate change influence both physical The changes in the environment and their damage of water structures, disease eruptions, impacts on global climates enhance the climate severe pollutions, increase in water hardness, related impacts such as average increase in and increased growth of viruses, thereby, global temperature, sea level rise, uneven causing the chronic diseases like hepatitis, distribution of rains and extreme events causing typhoid etc [13,14,15,4]. The risks associated huge population and property damages. These can vary from local area to global level. However, events affect almost all the components of based on the climate change impacts on water ecosystem including water, the most important quality of water bodies, particularly rivers, the key element of life on the earth [1]. The different models and tools like Hydrological occurrence of extreme events of deadly heavy models, water quality models, watershed rainfalls in drought-stricken India in 2019,the management models, correlation, sensitivity floods, wildfires in Spain, increased heat waves analysis and other statistical multivariate in Europe in 2019 and occurrence of cyclones in techniques can be employed to show the impacts various parts of the world are the significant of climate change on water quality of water indicators of the climate changes [2]. Further, the bodies. world also experienced flooding and unprecedented events of powerful hurricanes In view of the above, it is mentioned that climate that destroyed homes and crops in the change has significant changes in water quality Dominican Republic, Haiti, and other areas of of water bodies. The present paper covers the Caribbean islands apart from loss of life, literature review of relations between the degradation of the land surface, air quality as changing climates and water quality of water well as increasing water pollution in water bodies bodies, the methodologies used to analyze the [3]. Impacts of debris and sediments from the impacts of climate change on water quality and watershed result in rapid decline in water quality mechanism of pollution of water bodies by the of water bodies either by increasing the climate changes. However, the risks associated concentration or changing the nature of water with climate change on water bodies’ ecosystem, quality parameters. Globally, the increase in sensitivity of water quality parameters to climate surface and water temperature play important change (CC) and proposal of managerial role in affecting the water quality of the water measures to the impacts are also addressed in bodies, due to abrupt changes in water this paper. catchments, storage reservoirs, the performance of water treatment processes or the integrity of 2. CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON distribution systems [4]. Some authors reported WATER QUALITY OF WATER BODIES that Global temperature has increased the water surface temperature by 0.2-2°C annually, 0.8- The concept of climate change effects on water 1.1°C by mid-century and 1.6-3.1°C by the quality of water bodies can easily be based on century due to climate changes [5,6]. The water the impacts of the flow regime of that particular quality parameters like water temperature, water body [16]. Any change in the patterns of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nutrients, rainfall, increase in the frequency of the rainfall, Organic pollutant, pathogens, cyanobacteria and flood fluctuations and other extreme events cyanotoxins, stream flow and sediments are results into the change in the flows regimes readily changing with change in climates caused by the change in hydromophology, - [4,5,6,7,8]. The nitrate nitrogen (NO 3-N), total chemical reactions and ecological environment of phosphorous (TP), fecal coliform and fecal the water bodies [16,17]. The effects of climate coliform bacteria also change with the changes in change on the chemistry and water ecology of catchment area [9,10]. Wang et al. [11] found rivers can be known from the relations between that increase stream discharge (Q), total nitrogen the climate change and water quality parameters (TN) and total phosphorous (TP) also is impacted. Based on the literature, Table 1 increased with the increase in global summarizes the climate change parameters and temperature. Other parameters like average their impacts on water quality. 27 Salila et al.; IJECC, 10(3): 26-37, 2020; Article no.IJECC.55702 The Table 1 shows that climate change change impacts on water quality compared to parameters are responsible for the water quality other methods. impairment. Each parameter has distinct ultimate impacts on water, water quality and river 4. IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON ecology. Increased water temperature, runoff, WATER QUALITY OF RIVERS sediment, increased greenhouse gases(GHG) emissions and drought-flood fluctuations are The degradation of Water Quality of rivers due to found to impact water quality parameter like river climate change can be by direct or indirect discharge, suspended solids and nutrient processes involving hydrological response of the causing impacts on increasing phytoplankton and river i.e stream discharge, runoffs, drought and disturbances of the self-purification process of temperature rise etc. as shown in Fig. 1. the rivers. The Fig. 1 shows that the climate change is 3. METHODOLOGIES USED TO ASSESS mostly driven by natural processes, THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE anthropogenic activities and population growth. ON WATER QUALITY OF WATER All these factors influence the Green House BODIES Gases (GHG) concentrations, which lead to global temperature increase and climate extreme The impacts of climate change on water quality events like heavy rainfall, extreme heat, drought, can be assessed using various approaches like, wildfires, cyclone, hurricane and any super statistical analysis; global climate models storms with high risks on water quality in the form (GCMs) and hydrological models. Table 2 of increased water turbidity, total suspended summarizes the common approaches used to solids (TSS), total solids (TS) and pathogens in assess the climate change impacts on water water, thereby, changing the water quality of quality. The approaches/ methods differ from one rivers/water bodies. Other impacts include catchment to another depending on the type of fluctuations in river flow, fecal coliform, water impact on water quality. temperature and destabilizations of microbial activities.