User:Mutaedy/sandbox

Climate change is already having an impact on the water cycle. In particular, climate change is thought to be making the season wind more erratic and unpredictable, and leading to a decreasing number of rainfall days but with heavier intensity (Loo et al., 2015). In addition to shifting such baseline conditions, climate change is projected to increase the frequency and severity of both floods and droughts (Kundzewicz et al., 2007). In parallel, in Africa, as in much of the world, water demand is increasing in response to population growth, urbanisation and increased per capita demand, increased industrial demand and a continued relatively high dependence on agriculture. This increase in demand is expected to continue and accelerate, especially in the agriculture sector, as temperature rises lead to higher evapotranspiration losses and greater crop water use (Cline, 2008). Changes in the hydrologic cycle coupled with increased water demand will have manifold impacts on food and livelihood security, agriculture, urbanisation, industrialisation and hence the economy at large. As a result, Africa water resources and agriculture sectors need to plan for climate change. The UMFULA programme utilises a variety of Climate-resilient water resources management approaches and practices based on the local context and demand from key stakeholders. For example, some interventions focus on conducting water use studies and overlaying them onto climate scenarios to inform WRM. Others focus on developing flood-forecasting systems. Other examples include informing national and state climate policy and planning.