An Integrated Analysis of Changer in Water Stress in Europe
Authors
Thomas Henrichs
University Kassel
Bernhard Lehner
University Kassel
Joseph Alcamo
University Kassel
Keywords:
water stress, runoff, water use, integrated analysis, global change, climate change, scenario analysis
Abstract
Future changes in water availability with climate change and changes in water use due to socio-economic development are to occur in parallel. In an integrated analysis we bring together these aspects of global change in a consistent manner, and analyse the water stress situation in Europe. We find that today high water stress exists in one-fifth of European river basin area. Under a scenario projection, increases in water use throughout Eastern Europe are accompanied by decreases in water availability in most of Southern Europe--combining these trends leads to a marked increase in water stress in Europe.
