Spatio-Temporal Characteristics of Climate Extremes in Sub-Saharan Africa and Potential Impact of Oceanic Teleconnections

• Published in: Atmosphere Vol. 16; no. 1; p. 86
• Main Authors: Zita, Lormido Ernesto, Justino, Flávio, Gurjão, Carlos, Adamu, James, Talacuece, Manuel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.01.2025
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Climate; Climate and weather; Climate change; climate changes; Climate variability; Climatic extremes; CLIMPACT; Cooling; Datasets; Dipoles; Drought; El Nino; El Nino phenomena; El Nino-Southern Oscillation event; ENSO; Environmental aspects; Extreme weather; Forecasts and trends; heat waves; Interannual variability; IOD; Maximum rainfall; Modes; Oceans; Performance evaluation; Population studies; Precipitation; Precipitation variations; Rainfall; Southern Oscillation; Spatiotemporal data; Teleconnections (Climatology); Temperature; Variability; Weather; Weather forecasting; Weather index; Wet days; Sub-Saharan Africa; Indian Ocean; Southern Africa; Africa
• DOI: 10.3390/atmos16010086
• ISSN: 2073-4433

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is a region vulnerable to extreme weather events due to its low level of adaptive capacity. In recent decades, SSA has been punctuated by more intense climatic phenomena that severely affect its population. Therefore, this study evaluates the performance of the ERA5 and CHIRPS datasets, and the spatio-temporal evolution of extreme weather indices and their potential relationship/response to climate variability modes in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans, namely, the El Niño−Southern Oscillation, Indian Ocean Dipole, and Tropical Atlantic Variability (ENSO, IOD, and TAV). The CHIRPS dataset showed strong positive correlations with CPC in spatial patterns and similarity in simulating interannual variability and in almost all seasons. Based on daily CHIRPS and CPC data, nine extreme indices were evaluated focusing on regional trends and change detection, and the maximum lag correlation method was applied to investigate fluctuations caused by climate variability modes. The results revealed a significant decrease in total precipitation (PRCPTOT) in north−central SSA, accompanied by a reduction in Consecutive Wet Days (CWDs) and maximum 5-day precipitation indices (RX5DAYS). At the same time, there was an increase in Consecutive Dry Days (CDDs) and maximum rainfall in 1 day (RX1DAY). With regard to temperatures, absolute minimums and maximums (TNn and TXn) showed a tendency to increase in the center−north and decrease in the south of the SSA, while daily maximums and minimums (TXx and TNx) showed the opposite pattern. The IOD, TAV, and ENSO modes of climate variability influence temperature and precipitation variations in the SSA, with distinct regional responses and lags between the basins.