Context: Cauvery River
Study (IIT Gandhinagar) shows Cauvery basin may face lower river flows till 2050, despite overall increase in rainfall due to climate change.
Key Points
Cauvery is a rain-fed peninsular river, so increased rainfall does not automatically increase flow → much of the water is lost as evaporation, runoff or used in the basin itself → past data already shows ~28% decline, and future may see ~3.5% more decline → unlike Himalayan rivers, Cauvery lacks glacier support → hence overall usable flow reduces.
Cauvery River
Origin → Talakaveri (Brahmagiri Hills, Western Ghats, Kodagu, Karnataka) → flows to Bay of Bengal
Tributaries → Kabini, Bhavani, Amaravati, Hemavati
Core Issue
Already a Karnataka–Tamil Nadu dispute river → declining flow will increase conflict and water stress
