Climatic fluctuations affect water management in a variety of ways. Much emphasis has been placed in recent years on climatic changes that may occur in the future due to global warming resulting from increases in greenhouse gases. If and when global warming takes place, water availability and use patterns will most certainly change. At our present state of knowledge it is not possible to predict the onset of climatic changes, including their magnitude and spatial distribution, with any degree of confidence so that they can be explicitly incorporated into water management in a cost-effective manner. The problem of climatic fluctuations appears to be more complex than the water resources profession has so far realized. Development of new methodologies to deal efficiently with climatic fluctuations is urgently needed.
By Mahmoud A. Abu-Zeid and Asit K. Biswas, 1991. Article published in International Journal of Water Resources Development, Volume 7, Issue 2, pages 74-81. DOI: 10.1080/07900629108722497