Trends in Rainfall and Temperature Extremes in Ethiopia: Station and Agro-Ecological Zone Levels of Analysis
Climate extreme events have been observed more frequently since the 1970s throughout Ethiopia, which adversely affects the socio-economic development of the country, as its economy depends on agriculture, which, in turn, relies heavily on annual and seasonal rainfall. Climate extremes studies conduc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/14/3/483 |
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| author | Gizachew Belay Wubaye Temesgen Gashaw Abeyou W. Worqlul Yihun T. Dile Meron Teferi Taye Amare Haileslassie Benjamin Zaitchik Dereje Ademe Birhan Enyew Adgo Jemal Ali Mohammed Tadele Melese Lebeza Amare Bantider Abdulkarim Seid Raghavan Srinivasan |
| author_facet | Gizachew Belay Wubaye Temesgen Gashaw Abeyou W. Worqlul Yihun T. Dile Meron Teferi Taye Amare Haileslassie Benjamin Zaitchik Dereje Ademe Birhan Enyew Adgo Jemal Ali Mohammed Tadele Melese Lebeza Amare Bantider Abdulkarim Seid Raghavan Srinivasan |
| author_sort | Gizachew Belay Wubaye |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Climate extreme events have been observed more frequently since the 1970s throughout Ethiopia, which adversely affects the socio-economic development of the country, as its economy depends on agriculture, which, in turn, relies heavily on annual and seasonal rainfall. Climate extremes studies conducted in Ethiopia are mainly limited to a specific location or watershed, making it difficult to have insights at the national level. The present study thus aims to examine the observed climate extreme events in Ethiopia at both station and agro-ecological zone (AEZ) levels. Daily rainfall and temperature data for 47 and 37 stations, respectively (1986 up to 2020), were obtained from the National Meteorology Agency (NMA). The Modified Mann–Kendall (MMK) trend test and the Theil–Sen slope estimator were employed to estimate the trends in rainfall and temperature extremes. This study examines trends of 13 temperature and 10 rainfall extreme indices using RClimDex in R software. The results revealed that most of the extreme rainfall indices showed a positive trend in the majority of the climate stations. For example, an increase in consecutive dry days (CDD), very heavy rainfall days (R20), number of heavy rainfall days (R10) and consecutive wet days (CWD) were exhibited in most climate stations. In relation to AEZs, the greater number of extreme rainfall indices illustrated an upward trend in cool and sub-humid, cool and humid, and cool and moist AEZs, a declining trend in hot arid AEZ, and equal proportions of increasing and decreasing trends in warm semi-arid AEZs. Concerning extreme temperature indices, the result indicated an increasing trend of warm temperature extreme indices and a downward trend of cold temperature extreme indices in most of the climate stations, indicating the overall warming and dryness trends in the country. With reference to AEZs, an overall warming was exhibited in all AEZs, except in the hot arid AEZ. The observed trends in the rainfall and temperature extremes will have tremendous direct and indirect impacts on agriculture, water resources, health, and other sectors in the country. Therefore, the findings suggest the need for identifying and developing climate change adaptation strategies to minimize the ill effects of these extreme climate events on the social, economic, and developmental sectors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:56:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-396b81aaaaff49b1ad87a634dcd3a160 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:56:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-396b81aaaaff49b1ad87a634dcd3a1602023-11-17T09:32:20ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332023-02-0114348310.3390/atmos14030483Trends in Rainfall and Temperature Extremes in Ethiopia: Station and Agro-Ecological Zone Levels of AnalysisGizachew Belay Wubaye0Temesgen Gashaw1Abeyou W. Worqlul2Yihun T. Dile3Meron Teferi Taye4Amare Haileslassie5Benjamin Zaitchik6Dereje Ademe Birhan7Enyew Adgo8Jemal Ali Mohammed9Tadele Melese Lebeza10Amare Bantider11Abdulkarim Seid12Raghavan Srinivasan13Department of Natural Resource Management, College of Agriculture and Environmental Science, Bahir Dar University, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 5689, EthiopiaDepartment of Natural Resource Management, College of Agriculture and Environmental Science, Bahir Dar University, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 5689, EthiopiaInternational Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Addis Ababa P.O. Box 5689, EthiopiaCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USAInternational Water Management Institute, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 5689, EthiopiaInternational Water Management Institute, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 5689, EthiopiaDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21210, USADepartment of Horticulture, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos P.O. Box 269, EthiopiaDepartment of Natural Resource Management, College of Agriculture and Environmental Science, Bahir Dar University, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 5689, EthiopiaDepartment of Forestry, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mekdela Amba University, Germame P.O. Box 32, EthiopiaDepartment of Natural Resource Management, College of Agriculture and Environmental Science, Bahir Dar University, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 5689, EthiopiaWater and Land Resource Center, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 3880, EthiopiaInternational Water Management Institute, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 5689, EthiopiaCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USAClimate extreme events have been observed more frequently since the 1970s throughout Ethiopia, which adversely affects the socio-economic development of the country, as its economy depends on agriculture, which, in turn, relies heavily on annual and seasonal rainfall. Climate extremes studies conducted in Ethiopia are mainly limited to a specific location or watershed, making it difficult to have insights at the national level. The present study thus aims to examine the observed climate extreme events in Ethiopia at both station and agro-ecological zone (AEZ) levels. Daily rainfall and temperature data for 47 and 37 stations, respectively (1986 up to 2020), were obtained from the National Meteorology Agency (NMA). The Modified Mann–Kendall (MMK) trend test and the Theil–Sen slope estimator were employed to estimate the trends in rainfall and temperature extremes. This study examines trends of 13 temperature and 10 rainfall extreme indices using RClimDex in R software. The results revealed that most of the extreme rainfall indices showed a positive trend in the majority of the climate stations. For example, an increase in consecutive dry days (CDD), very heavy rainfall days (R20), number of heavy rainfall days (R10) and consecutive wet days (CWD) were exhibited in most climate stations. In relation to AEZs, the greater number of extreme rainfall indices illustrated an upward trend in cool and sub-humid, cool and humid, and cool and moist AEZs, a declining trend in hot arid AEZ, and equal proportions of increasing and decreasing trends in warm semi-arid AEZs. Concerning extreme temperature indices, the result indicated an increasing trend of warm temperature extreme indices and a downward trend of cold temperature extreme indices in most of the climate stations, indicating the overall warming and dryness trends in the country. With reference to AEZs, an overall warming was exhibited in all AEZs, except in the hot arid AEZ. The observed trends in the rainfall and temperature extremes will have tremendous direct and indirect impacts on agriculture, water resources, health, and other sectors in the country. Therefore, the findings suggest the need for identifying and developing climate change adaptation strategies to minimize the ill effects of these extreme climate events on the social, economic, and developmental sectors.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/14/3/483agro-ecological zonesclimate change adaptationEthiopiarainfall extremestemperature extremes |
| spellingShingle | Gizachew Belay Wubaye Temesgen Gashaw Abeyou W. Worqlul Yihun T. Dile Meron Teferi Taye Amare Haileslassie Benjamin Zaitchik Dereje Ademe Birhan Enyew Adgo Jemal Ali Mohammed Tadele Melese Lebeza Amare Bantider Abdulkarim Seid Raghavan Srinivasan Trends in Rainfall and Temperature Extremes in Ethiopia: Station and Agro-Ecological Zone Levels of Analysis Atmosphere agro-ecological zones climate change adaptation Ethiopia rainfall extremes temperature extremes |
| title | Trends in Rainfall and Temperature Extremes in Ethiopia: Station and Agro-Ecological Zone Levels of Analysis |
| title_full | Trends in Rainfall and Temperature Extremes in Ethiopia: Station and Agro-Ecological Zone Levels of Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Trends in Rainfall and Temperature Extremes in Ethiopia: Station and Agro-Ecological Zone Levels of Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Trends in Rainfall and Temperature Extremes in Ethiopia: Station and Agro-Ecological Zone Levels of Analysis |
| title_short | Trends in Rainfall and Temperature Extremes in Ethiopia: Station and Agro-Ecological Zone Levels of Analysis |
| title_sort | trends in rainfall and temperature extremes in ethiopia station and agro ecological zone levels of analysis |
| topic | agro-ecological zones climate change adaptation Ethiopia rainfall extremes temperature extremes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/14/3/483 |
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