Sonu Khanal (Ph.D.) has over 12 years of experience in providing technical leadership for projects related to water-energy-food nexus, extreme hydro-climatic events, river floods, droughts, compound coastal floods, multivariate statistical models, ensemble modeling, climate risk assessment and hydropower development. His experiences were obtained at the Institute of Engineering (IOE, Nepal), International Centre for Integrated Mountain and Development (ICIMOD, Nepal), Practical Action Consulting, (PAC, Nepal), Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI, the Netherlands), and Vrije Universiteit (VU, Amsterdam, the Netherlands). At FutureWater, he works with quantitative methods, simulation models (SPHY, VIC, WEAP, SWAT, HEC-RAS, HEC-HMS), geographic information systems (ArcGIS, QGIS) and satellite observations. He is skilled in analyzing multidimensional hydro-meteorological information with R, Python and  GIS-based applications. He is experienced in QGIS-plugin development and R-Shiny-based applications for climate and hydrological analysis and database management.

Over the last year, he focused on the flood and drought risk studies in European catchments, operationalization of the probabilistic flood forecasting at different pilot basins with governmental institutions and forecasting drought impacts on crop yield and water supply systems using novel state-of-the-art machine learning techniques. He has international working experience in countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. Sonu has worked with several national and international clients and collaborators such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank, National and Local Governments, River Basin Organizations, Science Foundations, Universities, and Research Organizations.

Related projects

  • Increasing Investments in Early Warning Systems to Strengthen Climate and Disaster Resilience

    This project aims to support the development of a new multi-hazard Early Warning System (EWS) facility, addressing the significant exposure of countries in Asia and the Pacific region to disaster risks. The enhancement of EWS aligns with global commitments, such as the Paris Agreement, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Sustainable Development…

  • Roadside Spring Protection to Improve Water Security in Nepal

    The mid and high-altitude areas of the Himalayas face a critical water scarcity issue, making them one of the most vulnerable regions in the world. Springs are essential lifelines for millions of mountain communities, serving as the primary source of domestic water and local food security. Unfortunately, the flow regimes…

  • Integrated Water Resources Management in Tajikistan

    Given the abundant freshwater resources in Tajikistan, water plays a crucial role in the country's socioeconomic development. However, the rising population, economic growth, and the growing impacts of climate change pose significant challenges to ensure water availability and accessibility. This project aims to address the aforementioned information gap by improving…

  • Climate Risk and Adaptation Assessment for the Electricity Distribution Infrastructure in Uzbekistan

    Given Uzbekistan’s accelerated economic growth despite the ongoing global challenges, the government aims to maintain the momentum by implementing structural reforms that will stimulate demand and expand the private sector. This includes enhancing the resilience of the power sector with the support of the Asian Development Bank. As part of…

  • Climate Risk and Adaptation Assessment for Hydropower Project in Nepal

    Climate risk and adaptation (CRA) assessment is required for the 635 MW Dudhkoshi hydroelectric project (DKSHEP) to ensure the project addresses climate change mitigation and adaptation in accordance with ADB’s requirements. The initial Climate Risk Assessment (CRA) by FutureWater in 2021 suggested the project is likely to be affected by…

Related publications

  • 2023 - FutureWater Report 243Khanal, S., T. Imran, C. Nolet. 2023. Climate Risk and Adaptation Assessment for Digitize to Decarbonize – Power Transmission Grid Enhancement Project – Uzbekistan.X

    Climate Risk and Adaptation Assessment for Digitize to Decarbonize – Power Transmission Grid Enhancement Project – Uzbekistan

    Khanal, S., T. Imran, C. Nolet

  • 2023 - Journal of Applied Meteorology and ClimatologyKhanal, S., T. S. Tiwari, A.F. Lutz, B.V.D Hurk, W.W. Immerzeel. 2022. Historical Climate Trends over High Mountain Asia Derived from ERA5 Reanalysis Data. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 62, 263-288. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-21-0045.1X

    Historical Climate Trends over High Mountain Asia Derived from ERA5 Reanalysis Data

    Khanal, S., T. S. Tiwari, A.F. Lutz, B.V.D Hurk, W.W. Immerzeel

  • 2022 - FutureWater Report 234Contreras, S., G. Guimarães, A. Fernández, S. Khanal, G.W.H. Simons. 2022. InfoSequia-4CAST: Report on InfoSequia-4CAST Development. FutureWater Report 234. X

    InfoSequia-4CAST: Report on InfoSequia-4CAST Development

    Contreras, S., G. Guimarães, A. Fernández, S. Khanal, G.W.H. Simons

  • 2022 - FutureWater Report 235Contreras, S., C. Nolet, S. Khanal, A. Fernández, G.W.H. Simons. 2022. InfoSequia-4CAST: Report on InfoSequia Monitor Upgrading. FutureWater Report 235. X

    InfoSequia-4CAST: Report on InfoSequia Monitor Upgrading

    Contreras, S., C. Nolet, S. Khanal, A. Fernández, G.W.H. Simons

  • 2021 - FutureWater Report 228Contreras, S., G. Guimarães, G.W.H. Simons, C. Nolet, J.Beard, S. Khanal, A. Fernández. 2021. InfoSequia-4CAST: Baseline Design Report. FutureWater Report 228. X

    InfoSequia-4CAST: Baseline Design Report

    Contreras, S., G. Guimarães, G.W.H. Simons, C. Nolet, J.Beard, S. Khanal, A. Fernández

  • 2021 - FutureWater Report 242Khanal, S. 2021. Climate Risk Adaptation Assessment for Dudhkoshi HEP, Nepal. FutureWater Report 242.X

    Climate Risk Adaptation Assessment for Dudhkoshi HEP, Nepal

    Khanal, S.

  • 2021 - Water Resources ResearchKhanal, S., Lutz, A. F., Kraaijenbrink, P. D. A., van den Hurk, B., Yao, T., & Immerzeel, W. W. (2021). Variable 21st century climate change response for rivers in High Mountain Asia at seasonal to decadal time scales. Water Resources Research, 57, e2020WR029266. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR029266X

    Variable 21st Century Climate Change Response for Rivers in High Mountain Asia at Seasonal to Decadal Time Scales

    Khanal, S., A.F. Lutz,, P. D. A. Kraaijenbrink, B. van den Hurk, T. Yao, W.W. Immerzeel

  • 2019 - Frontiers in Earth ScienceKhanal, S., N. Ridder, H. de Vries, W. Terink, B. van den Hurk. 2019. Storm Surge and Extreme River Discharge: A Compound Event Analysis Using Ensemble Impact Modeling. Front. Earth Sci. 7:224. doi: 10.3389/feart.2019.00224X

    Storm Surge and Extreme River Discharge: A Compound Event Analysis Using Ensemble Impact Modeling

    Khanal, S., N. Ridder, H. de Vries, W. Terink, B. van den Hurk

  • 2019 - AtmosphereKhanal, S., A.F. Lutz, W.W. Immerzeel, H. de Vries, N. Wanders, B. van den Hurk. 2019. The Impact of Meteorological and Hydrological Memory on Compound Peak Flows in the Rhine River Basin. Atmosphere 10 (4) 171. doi:10.3390/atmos10040171X

    The Impact of Meteorological and Hydrological Memory on Compound Peak Flows in the Rhine River Basin

    Khanal, S., A.F. Lutz, W.W. Immerzeel, H. de Vries, N. Wanders, B. van den Hurk

  • 2017 - FutureWater Report 175Khanal, S., J.E. Hunink. 2017. Hydrological pre-feasibility assessment for hydropower facility in Northern Georgia. FutureWater Report 175.X

    Hydrological pre-feasibility assessment for hydropower facility in Northern Georgia

    Khanal, S., J.E. Hunink

  • 2017 - PLOS ONEWijngaard, R.R., A.F. Lutz, S. Nepal, S. Khanal, S. Pradhananga, A.B. Shrestha, W.W. Immerzeel. 2017. Future changes in hydro-climatic extremes in the Upper Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra River basins. PLOS ONE 12(12): e0190224. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190224X

    Future changes in hydro-climatic extremes in the Upper Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra River basins

    Wijngaard, R.R., A.F. Lutz, S. Nepal, S. Khanal, S. Pradhananga, A.B. Shrestha, W.W. Immerzeel

  • 2017 - FutureWater Report 164Terink, W., W.W. Immerzeel, A.F. Lutz, P. Droogers, S. Khanal, S. Nepal, A.B. Shrestha. 2017. Hydrological and Climate Change Assessment for Hydropower development in the Tamakoshi River Basin, Nepal. FutureWater Report 164.X

    Hydrological and Climate Change Assessment for Hydropower development in the Tamakoshi River Basin, Nepal

    Terink, W., W.W. Immerzeel, A.F. Lutz, P. Droogers, S. Khanal, S. Nepal, A.B. Shrestha

  • 2016 - FutureWater Report 160Terink, W., S. Khanal. 2016. SPHY: Spatial Processes in Hydrology. Advanced training: input data, sensitivity analysis, model calibration, and scenario analyses. FutureWater Report 160.X

    SPHY: Spatial Processes in Hydrology. Advanced training: input data, sensitivity analysis, model calibration, and scenario analyses

    Terink, W., S. Khanal