Impact of Climate Change on the Water Quality of Lake Khurpatal, Kumaun Himalaya, India

摘要

Lake Khurpatal is one of the most beautiful lakes of Kumaun Himalaya and lies at an altitude of 1610m above sealevel and about 12 km far from Nainital. The lake is multipurpose in use. Apart from being the source of drinking water the lakeis used for fishing, irrigation and livestock as well. It is also a good repository of biodiversity; in the last few years the waterquality of the lake has degraded significantly due to various anthropogenic activities. The present study was carried out in LakeKhurpatal, Kumaun Himalaya during 2016-18 with the objective to comprehend the impact of climate change on the waterquality of the lake. The standard equipment and methods were used to analyse the water quality of the lake. The selectedparameters of water quality were water temperature, water transparency, pH, concentration of dissolve oxygen and CO2,concentration of phosphate-phosphorous, nitrate-nitrogen, nitrite-nitrogen, ammonia-nitrogen, fluoride, copper, zinc etc. Theresult of the study suggested that pH, secchi disc transparency and concentration of dissolved oxygen did not change remarkablyfrom 1978 to 2018. The concentration of NO2-N was reduced significantly from 476ug/l in 1978 to 14.2ug/l in 2018. Theconcentration of NH3-N did not show much variation in last three decades. The concentration of NO3-N has increasedapproximately 50% from 1981 to 2018. The concentration of PO4 –P has also increased consistently from 1978-2018. Thechange in the water quality of lake has been discussed in relation to human activities in the catchment and climate change.