Assessment of climate change impacts on irrigation water requirement and rice yield for Ngamoeyeik Irrigation Project in Myanmar

Abstract

This study analyzes the impacts of climate change on irrigation water requirement (IWR) and yield for rainfed rice and irrigated paddy, respectively, at Ngamoeyeik Irrigation Project in Myanmar. Climate projections from two General Circulation Models, namely ECHAM5 and HadCM3 were derived for the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s. The climate variables were downscaled to basin level by using the Statistical DownScaling Model. The AquaCrop model was used to simulate the yield and IWR under future climate. The analysis shows a decreasing trend in maximum temperature for three scenarios and three time windows considered; however, an increasing trend is observed for minimum temperature for all cases. The analysis on precipitation also suggests that rainfall in wet season is expected to vary largely from −29 to +21.9% relative to the baseline period. A higher variation is observed for the rainfall in dry season ranging from −42% for 2080s, and +96% in the case of 2020s. A decreasing trend of IWR is observed for irrigated paddy under the three scenarios indicating that small irrigation schemes are suitable to meet the requirements. An increasing trend in the yield of rainfed paddy was estimated under climate change demonstrating increased food security in the region.