Future changes in mean and extreme precipitation over North-East Africa
and Arabia: Part 2 - projections
Abstract
This study provides a first analysis of future changes in mean and
extreme precipitation over Northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
To this aim, we exploited projections from ten selected CMIP6 models (in
part I) under various SSP greenhouse gases emission scenarios for the
mid to late 21st century. We found a north-south differentiation in
future changes in total precipitation for the JF and MAM seasons, with
decreases in the north and moderate increases elsewhere, although model
uncertainties are high, particularly for MAM. In contrast, the JJAS and
OND seasons show larger positive changes with less model uncertainty.
These increases in mean precipitation will be accompanied by an increase
in the intensity and frequency of extreme precipitation events. In
addition, the JJAS (+6.7%) and OND (+4.5%) seasons will contribute
more to cumulative annual precipitation, while the JF (-1.3%) and MAM
(-9.9%) seasons will experience a reduction. Over Djibouti, where the
selected models are shown to perform well, downscaled and bias-corrected
CMIP6 data using the CDF-t method indicate in addition that the return
period of intense precipitation events (≥ 80 mm/day) causing documented
flooding will decrease from 5 years historically to 1.4 years by the end
of the 21st century under the SSP5-8.5 scenario. This robust result
indicates the need to strengthen flood adaptation measures in Djibouti.
Furthermore, similar downscaling exercises are recommended for other
sub-regions in Northeast Africa and Arabia, given the consistent trend
towards higher intensity rainfall.