IIT-Bombay’s open-source IMPART app can track climate change through lake water temperatures 

IIT Bombay researchers develop IMPART, a web app calculating lake water surface temperatures, crucial for climate change monitoring.

Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay have developed an open-source web-based application called IMPART: ‘I’ntegration of dyna’M’ic water extents towards improved lake w’A’ter su’R’face ‘T’emperature; that calculates the temperature of lake water surfaces considering the dynamic changes in lake areas.  

The study by Professor J. Indu and her PhD student Kumar Nitish from the Department of Civil Engineering and Interdisciplinary Centre for Climate Studies at the IIT-Bombay, was published in the Journal of Environmental Management. “The study overcomes the shortcomings of traditional methods, which assume constant lake areas — a simplification that can lead to misleading results,” the researchers said.  

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Studies indicate that sea surface temperatures, along with the surface temperatures of rivers, have consistently increased in recent years. In 2023, sea surface temperatures saw sharpest rise in more than a century. Climate change and human activities are driving this trend, particularly in Asia, where river surface temperatures are rising rapidly. Lakes, critical sources of freshwater, are also experiencing significant impacts. 

Lead researcher of the study, Ms. Indu said, “Accounting for dynamic changes in lake water surface extents significantly improves the accuracy of lake water surface temperature estimations.” 

Waterbodies heat up much slower than materials on land, making their surface temperature a key indicator of global warming and climate change. These changes have profound effects on both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems over time. Hence, monitoring lake water surface temperatures is essential for managing water resources and tracking climate change. For instance, rising surface temperatures can trigger harmful algal blooms, reduce oxygen levels, and adversely affect aquatic life in the lake. Accurate measurements of lake water surface temperatures are therefore crucial for safeguarding these ecosystems.