Sectoral water use responses to droughts and heatwaves: analyses from local to global scales for 1990–2019

Abstract

Water use for various sectors (e.g. irrigation, livestock, domestic, energy and manufacturing) is increasing due to a growing global population and economic development. Additionally, increases in frequency and severity of droughts, heatwaves and compound drought-heatwave events, also lead to responses in sectoral water use and a reduction in water availability, intensifying water scarcity. However, limited knowledge exists on the responses in sectoral water use during these hydroclimatic extremes. In this study we quantify the impacts of droughts, heatwaves and compound events on water use of irrigation, livestock, domestic, energy and manufacturing sectors at global, country and local scales. To achieve this, datasets of reported and downscaled sectoral water use (i.e. withdrawal and consumption) were evaluated during these hydroclimatic extremes and compared to normal (non-extreme) periods for 1990–2019. Our analysis shows that these hydroclimatic extremes affect water use patterns differently per sector and region. Reported data show that domestic and irrigation water use increases during heatwaves in Eastern Europe and central continental United States, while water use decreases for thermoelectric sector, particularly in Europe while it increases in north and Eastern Asia. Additionally, global water use response patterns reveal that irrigation and domestic sectors are mostly prioritized over livestock, thermoelectric and manufacturing. Reported local-scale data reveal that for most sectors and regions/locations, stronger water use responses are found for heatwaves and compound events compared to impacts during hydrological droughts. Our outcomes provide improved understanding of sectoral water use behaviour under hydroclimatic extremes. Nonetheless, given the future threats to water availability and the limited accessible information of water use, there is an urgency to collect more monitored-driven data of sectoral water use for improved assessments of water scarcity under these extremes. Consequently, this research reveals the necessity of more realistic water use models to better represent the sectoral responses to hydroclimatic extremes.