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The water resources in the arid region of northwestern China, which are impacted by climate change, tend to be more unstable, and the environment and ecosystems will suffer from severe water shortage. In this paper, potential future climate trends were predicted based on CMIP5 simulations in this region. The water availability and agricultural water demand under future climate change scenarios were estimated. Impacted by increases in temperature, the irrigation water demand will increase by 4.27–6.15 billion m 3 in this region over the next 60 years, compared to the demand of 32.75 billion m 3 during 1971–2000. However, the annual runoff will only increase by 4.8–8.5 billion m 3 , which is equivalent to or even less than the increased irrigation water demand. In fact, the increased demand for industrial, domestic and ecological water were not considered here. Thus, the water supply/demand contradiction will result in more severe water shortages in the future. According to a comparison with simulated irrigation water demand under three adaptation strategy scenarios, we should take effective measures such as improving the efficiency of irrigation water utilization, reducing crop planting areas and adjusting crop planting structures to alleviate the impacts of future climate changes and human activities on the water supply and water use in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The arid region of Northwest China, located in the central Asia, responds sensitively to global climate change. Based on the newest research results, this paper analyzes the impacts of climate change on hydrology and the water cycle in the arid region of Northwest China. The analysis results show that: (1) In the northwest arid region, temperature and precipitation experienced “sharply” increasing in the past 50 years. The precipitation trend changed in 1987, and since then has been in a state of high volatility, during the 21st century, the increasing rate of precipitation was diminished. Temperature experienced a “sharply” increase in 1997; however, this sharp increasing trend has turned to an apparent hiatus since the 21st century. The dramatic rise in winter temperatures in the northwest arid region is an important reason for the rise in the average annual temperature, and substantial increases in extreme winter minimum temperature play an important role in the rising average winter temperature; (2) There was a significant turning point in the change of pan evaporation in the northwest arid area in 1993, i.e., in which a significant decline reversed to a significant upward trend. In the 21st century, the negative effects of global warming and increasing levels of evaporation on the ecology of the northwest arid region have been highlighted; (3) Glacier change has a significant impact on hydrology in the northwest arid area, and glacier inflection points have appeared in some rivers. The melting water supply of the Tarim River Basin possesses a large portion of water supplies (about 50%). In the future, the amount of surface water will probably remain at a high state of fluctuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]