ABSTRACT
This paper provides an introduction to global climate change and its implications for
water resources. This and the following paper on planning methods serve as background for the rest o f the volume. Recent conclusions o f the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) about greenhouse gas emissions and their likely
climate impacts are summarized. The impacts on water supplies o f changes in temperature, precipitation, carbon dioxide, and sea levels are examined along with the impacts o f these climate variables on water for irrigation and for domestic,
industrial, and thermoelectric power uses. Non-climate factors influencing the availability and use o f water are also considered, to provide some perspective as to
the relative magnitude o f and the uncertainties surrounding the climate impacts.
