Analysis of water resources variability in the Yellow River of China during the last half century using historical data

The river discharges have decreased continuously during the last half century in the Yellow River, the second‐largest river basin in China. In particular, a drying up of the main river along the lower reach has occurred since 1972, and the situation has become more and more serious during the 1990s. Using 50 years of meteorological data from 108 stations together with a collection of irrigation data, the long‐term changes in the river discharge have been investigated with a view to identifying the reason for the drying up of the Yellow River. It was found that the annual precipitation generally decreased (−45.3 mm/50 yr) while the air temperature generally increased (+1.28°C/50 yr). From the 1960s to the 1970s the precipitation decreased by 29.6 mm/10 yr, the evaporation increased by 7 mm/10 yr (for pan evaporation), and the irrigation water usage increased by 10.5 mm/10 yr. As a consequence the drying up of the Yellow River has occurred since 1972. Irrigation was developed continuously in the 1980s, but the drying‐up situation maintained at the same level as during the 1970s. The reason for this was the increase in precipitation (by 10.3 mm/10 yr) and the sharp decrease in the evaporation (by 133 mm/10 yr for pan evaporation). During the 1990s the irrigation was maintained at a level similar to that during the 1980s, but the drying‐up situation was greatly aggravated. The reason for this was found to be a result of the decrease in precipitation (by 38.2 mm/10 yr) and the increase in evaporation (by 52 mm/10 yr for pan evaporation).