Climate change in the Eastern Himalayas: observed trends and model projections

ICIMOD, in partnership with the MacArthur Foundation, has undertaken an assessment of trends, perceptions, and impacts of climate change on biodiversity in the Eastern Himalayan region: in the process it is hoped to achieve a broad consensus on the impacts of climate change on the ecosystem and measures that can be taken to adapt to them. This paper is a part of the broader assessment and includes analyses of contemporary trends in key
climatic variables. Further, the paper investigates the likely future climate scenarios using the results of regional climate models (RCMs). Only two variables, temperature and precipitation, are considered in this study: the performance of RCMs in simulating the climate of the region is also assessed. The results of the analyses will be useful for sectoral impact assessment studies and for planning adaptation and mitigation measures.