Impact of Climatic Condition on the Life Cycle of Water Contaminants

Abstract

Climate change is increasingly recognized as a key driver of water quality deterioration through its influence on contaminant dynamics in aquatic systems. This study presents a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature published between 2000 and 2023, complemented by climate and hydrological datasets from the World Meteorological Organization, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the Global Runoff Data Centre. The review followed PRISMA 2020 guidelines to ensure methodological transparency and reproducibility, with studies screened for explicit linkages between climatic variables and contaminant fate, transport, and transformation across natural and engineered aquatic systems. The results demonstrate that temperature exerts both positive and negative effects, enhancing the degradation of pesticides and herbicides while simultaneously increasing mercury methylation and heavy metal mobilization. Precipitation extremes amplified risks through pathogen surges during storms and elevated salinity and metal concentrations during droughts. Solar radiation reduced microbial and pesticide persistence, though effectiveness was constrained in turbid waters. Wind and aerosol processes contributed to the long-range transport of heavy metals, while extreme events such as floods and drought–rewetting cycles triggered acute contaminant mobilization from sediments and industrial zones. These findings underscore the complexity of climate–contaminant interactions, highlighting the need for climate-informed contaminant monitoring, adaptive management strategies, and integration of hydrological frameworks such as the Budyko model into water governance. The study concludes that safeguarding water quality under changing climatic conditions requires interdisciplinary research, resilient infrastructure design, and coordinated transboundary management.