Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use

Water is a basic, necessary condition for life. It is referred to as the main commodity of the 21st century. There are already many areas in the world where its deficiency causes the degradation of landscape components (soil, flora, fauna), leading to the abandonment of this landscape and a gradual deterioration into desert. Desertification can lead to poverty, health problems and loss of biodiversity. Such negative processes can be caused by human influence either directly or indirectly. Indirectly, the civilization has an impact on water as a result of climate change influenced by its activities. The matter of climate change is currently a very frequently discussed issue. Climate change on planet Earth has been ongoing in the past and continues to happen today. However, most alarming is the fact that change is currently happening much faster and with increasing intensity. For this reason, the issue of climate change is no longer perceived only as a possible future threat, but rather is considered as one of the crucial environmental problems of today.