Dehradun, July 25 -- Climate change could significantly threaten long-term water security in Uttarakhand's Kosi river basin, with rising temperatures, declining groundwater recharge and increasing drought risks likely to put pressure on agriculture, drinking water supplies and fragile Himalayan ecosystems, according to a recent study by researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) and the GB Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment (GBPNIHE), Kosi. In a statement by IIT Roorkee, the study, published in Theoretical and Applied Climatology, in April this year examined the potential impact of future climate change scenarios on the hydrological behaviour of the basin. The researchers used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model, integrated with projections from five leading global climate models, to assess how climate change could affect the basin's water cycle. The findings are significant for the Kumaon region, where rural and mountain communities depend heavily on local water sources....