干旱与水资源短缺是西北地区的基本环境特征。西北地区在气候变暖的背景下,区域降水量出现了明显的区域差异:西北西部的新疆地区,20世纪80年代以来降水量增加;西北东部大部分地区降水量持续减少,干旱、连旱趋势增加;黄河流域西北区域降水量减少,干旱化趋势最为显著。在气候干旱化增强的背景下,新疆地区总体上经过70年代的枯水期后,在80年代中期开始较大范围内径流量呈现增加趋势;河西东部、西北东部的黄河流域等地区,70年代以来径流持续减少,大部分河流枯水频率在78%以上,水文干旱化趋势显著。水资源的开发利用、水土保持以及土地利用等人类活动使得西北地区水文干旱进一步加剧。干旱是西北地区最为严重的自然灾害之一,受干旱化气候和水文变化趋势的影响,黄河流域和内陆流域干旱灾害不断加剧,近50a干旱灾害受灾面积急剧扩张,旱灾造成的农业粮食损失不断增加。从创新水资源开发利用途径与管理等角度,提出了提高气候变化的地区适应性和区域水一经济系统旱灾抵御能力的对策与建议。
Drought and shortage of water resources are basic environmental problems in northwest China. Probably due to climate changes related to global warming, the precipitation in this region has become somewhat district variance. While precipitation has been increasing in Xinjiang region since the 1980s, there is a decreasing trend in most of the eastern part of northwest China leading to increasing drought, especially in Yellow River upper area, where drought phenomena are most serious. The runoff has been increasing in most part of Xinjiang region since mid-1980s after a low water period in the 1970s. However, the runoff has been decreasing in areas west of and in the upper reaches of the Yellow River since the 1970s. Human activities, including the utilization of water resources, the water and soil conservation, and land use, all contribute to the hydrologic drought of northwest China. The affected agricultural and pastoral areas have considerably expand- ed in the last 50 years, and the loss of crop production and livestock caused by drought disaster increases continually. In this paper, the countermeasures for improving the adaptability to climate change and the ability to countermeasure drought disasters are put forward from the point of view of innovating water exploitation approach and water resource management.