Approved by MWR, the Research Center for Climate Change of MWR was established in Dec. 2007. Entrusted by MWR and relevant government departments, the Center will devote its efforts to the study and assessment of impact of climate change on water resources, and to the technical consultancy services dealing with the impact of climate change on the water science and water-related projects.

The Center carries out its missions with assistance by the expertise of Hydrology and Water Resources Department, Hydraulic Engineering Department, River and Harbor Engineering Department and Materials and Structural Engineering Department of NHRI. Affiliated to the Center are Division of Impact on Hydrology and Water Resources, Division of Impact on Eco-environment, General Office, and Science and Technology Committee.

The research programs of the impact of climate change on hydrology and water resources completed by NHRI, which is the main supporting institution of the Center, since 1980s include:
◆　The research topic “Impact of climate change on water resources in north China” in the key research program “Impact of climate change on water resources in northwest China and north China” supported by China National Natural Science Foundation and the Chinese Academy of Sciences;
◆　The research program “Impact of climate change on hydrology and water resources and its countermeasures”, one of the key research programs in the 8th Five-Year Period, which won Class 2 Prize of Science and Technology Advancement of MWR in 1996;
◆　The research program “Model study on impact of extreme weather on water cycle and water resources in China’, one of the key research programs in the 9th Five-Year Period, which won Class 1 Prize of Science and Technology Advancement of China in 2003;
◆　The research program “Impact of climate change on fresh water resources in China and its integrated evaluation”, one of the key research programs in the 10th Five-Year Period, which won Class 2 Prize of China’s National Bureau of Environmental Protection in 2005;
◆　Participation in the compilation of National Evaluation Report on Climate Change and China’s Climate and Environmental Processes in the 11th Five-Year Period;
◆　Participation in the compilation of the 3rd Evaluation Report on Global Climate Change in 2001 and the 4th Evaluation Report on Global Climate Change in 2007organized by UN-IPCC; and
◆　Publishing the book Research on the Impact of Climate Change on Hydrology and Water Resources and the special edition The Impact of Global Climate Change on Water in the journal China Water Resources.

General Office
The Office is responsible of coordination and management of the research programs of the Center, in addition to the administrative work of the Center.

Division of Impact on Hydrology and Water Resources
Areas of interest: watershed hydrological modeling technology and distributive hydrological modeling, impact evaluation modeling, impact of climate change on watershed hydrology, land-air coupling modeling and scale degradation technology, analytical evaluation of sensitivity and vulnerability of water resources, evaluation of future variation in regional water resources, analysis on variation tendency of extreme hydrological values of storm and flood, regional water resources planning and evaluation, construction of risk management system for the impact of climate change on hydrology and water resources and countermeasures of the climate change.

Division of Impact on Eco-environment
Areas of interest: water quality evaluation modeling, response of water eco-environment to climate change, evaluation of impact of climate change on sea, river and coast, evaluation of impact of climate change on key water projects, air pollution due to construction materials and impact of climate change on construction materials, construction of risk management system for the impact of climate change on water eco-environment and countermeasures of the climate change.