• The article discusses the impacts of climate change on water availability and human activities in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) river basin.
• The article describes the region’s vulnerability to floods and droughts, as well as its reliance on glacier meltwaters for water supply.
• It also examines how climate change could further exacerbate these threats, leading to increased conflict between states within the region over access to water resources.

Overview of GBM River Basin

The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) river basin is one of the largest in the world, covering an area of 1.7 million square kilometers across India, Nepal, Bangladesh and China. It is a densely populated region with an estimated population of over 500 million people. The basin is highly vulnerable to floods and droughts due to its geography and climate patterns, making it particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change. In addition, much of its water supply comes from melting glaciers in the Himalayas, making it reliant on a fragile resource that is increasingly threatened by global warming.

Impacts Of Climate Change On Water Availability

Changing rainfall patterns due to climate change are expected to have a significant impact on water availability in the GBM basin. Warmer temperatures will cause more precipitation to fall as rain rather than snow, reducing runoff into rivers during dry periods when demand for irrigation is high. In addition, longer periods of drought are likely to reduce groundwater levels and cause reservoirs built along rivers in India and Bangladesh to run dry more quickly than they already do today. This will reduce agricultural productivity and lead to increased competition between states for access to available water resources.

Climate Change And Floods

Climate change is also having an impact on flooding in the region by causing heavier rains during monsoon season which increases flood risk along rivers such as the Brahmaputra in India and Bangladesh. Rising sea levels caused by global warming are exacerbating this problem by increasing salinity intrusion into coastal areas near estuaries where freshwater meets saltwater from oceans or seas, damaging agricultural land used for rice cultivation and disrupting fish populations upon which many people rely for their livelihoods.

Impact On Human Activities

In addition to impacting agriculture and fishing activities through changes in rainfall patterns or flooding events caused by rising sea levels, climate change has had other impacts on human activities within the GBM river basin that may not be immediately obvious but still have severe implications for people’s wellbeing such as health risks posed by air pollution or contaminated drinking water sources caused by changing weather patterns or increased development activity such as dam construction projects that can damage local ecosystems or disrupt traditional lifestyles such as those led by nomadic pastoralists who depend on seasonal migration routes that could be affected if new roads were built for dam maintenance purposes or if rivers changed course due to changes in precipitation levels during monsoon season etcetera..

Conclusion

The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) river basin is one of the most vulnerable regions worldwide when it comes to climate change due mainly because it relies heavily on glacier meltwater for its water supply which is being threatened by rising temperatures brought about by global warming combined with changing rainfall patterns leading to both droughts & floods impacting agriculture & fishing activities & increasing competition between states over access rights while at same time posing health risks due air pollution & contaminated drinking water sources among others factors all related directly or indirectly with effects of climate change