Impact of Global Warming on Wetlands: A Case Study of Lucknow District

Abstract

Wetlands are one of most productive environments and provide a wide variety of benefits. They are important repositories of biodiversity and play a critical role in the health, livelihood and economic prospects for the nearby rural population. Wetlands are under imminent threat by nature in form of global warming and by civilization in form of encroachments and reclamation of wetlands for farming and settlement. Along Indo-Gangetic plain wetlands have receded more than half of its size in last 50 years. Present paper attempts to analyse impact of climate change on wetlands of Lucknow. Methodology included analysis of temporal mapping of wetlands using Survey of India topographical maps (SOI) and satellite data, climatic data of area and ground verification for encroachment impacts. Results indicate that wetland of Lucknow are receding with exponential rate attributing to Global Warming, encroachment by human for settlement and agricultural activities.