How does climate change affect ecological water quality?

Climate change affects the ecological quality of urban surface water in several ways. The impact can be sub-divided into two types: abiotic factors and biological effects. Both types are explained below. At the bottom of this page, you will find a visualisation of ecological water quality. Clicking will take you to the enlarged version, in which you can zoom in on various effects.

Abiotic factors

Physical or chemical changes in the water itself, ensuing from climate change, may affect the quality of water. For example, salinisation raises the salt concentration. Climate change may also affect the concentration of oxygen, nutrients, and micro pollutants in the water. These are so-called abiotic factors of water. For example, high water temperatures may reduce the oxygen concentration in water.

• Read how climate change may affect the abiotic factors of water.

Biological effects

Climate change also affects everything living in the water, such as fish, water plants, algae, and midges. This is referred to as the biological effects of climate change on the ecological water quality.

• Read what biological effects climate change may have on ecological water quality.

Visualisation

The visualisation below shows how climate change may impact the ecological water quality. Clicking on the image will produce the enlarged version (in Dutch), in which each effect is clickable for a brief explanation.