Hydropower systems in high mountain areas need to be better adapted to climate change: NUS study

July 6, 2022

Photo: ‘A proglacial lake in eastern Tibet’ by Dongfeng Li, NUS News

In ‘Hydropower systems in high mountain areas need to be better adapted to climate change: NUS study’ (The Straits Times, July 2022), Dr Dongfeng Li and Professor Xixi Lu (both NUS Geography) warn that hydropower projects located near glaciers or glacial lakes at high altitudes are vulnerable to global warming. Better adaptation measures and more robust planning and monitoring systems are urgently needed.

Currently, there are more than 650 hydropower projects in the Himalayan region. In February last year, an avalanche in the region resulted in a cascade of debris and flooding that destroyed two hydropower projects.

Motivated by the recent incidents, Dr Li initiated a study to investigate the link between these mountainous hazards and climate change, collaborating with overseas scientists. According to the study, ice-melting caused by global warming is severely altering the volume and timing of water supplied from the high mountains to downstream areas in Asia.

The construction of more reservoirs is critical for adapting to these changes, but the adaptation projects themselves are vulnerable to the impact of climate change. Professor Lu recommends that future reservoirs should have additional storage space to cope with increased sedimentation from potential climate-related hazards.

The study also suggests that maps with better delineation of current and future hazard-prone regions are important for maintaining current hydropower plants and constructing new ones. Monitoring, forecasting, and early warning systems for future disasters are also needed.

Read the article in The Straits Times here: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/hydropower-systems-in-high-mountain-areas-need-to-be-better-adapted-to-climate-change-nus-study