Projected changes in climate and hydrological regimes of the Western Siberian lowlands

In this study, we analyse possible future climatic changes in three catchments, namely, Pyshma, Vagai and Loktinka located in the Western Siberian lowland region, and the resulting impact on hydrological regimes. It involved downscaling the GCM outputs based on the established statistical relationship between large-scale atmospheric variables and station data and simulating the effects of climate change on hydrological regimes via hydrological modelling. This was done for RCP 2.6, 4.5 and 8.5 based on second-generation Canadian Earth System Model used in the IPCC fifth assessment report. This paper provides the first climate change projections on a local scale in these catchments. The statistical downscaling showed that there will be an increase in both maximum and minimum temperature at all stations under all scenarios. The mean annual daily precipitation increased in Loktinka and Pyshma basins under all scenarios, but there was no clear trend in Vagai basin. The possible increase in annual precipitation is mostly due to the projected increase in autumn and winter precipitation. Annual streamflow tends to increase in all catchments under all scenarios.