Analysis of mid-twentieth century rainfall trends and variability over southwestern Uganda

A methodology has been applied to investigate the spatial variability and trends existent in a mid-twentieth century climatic time series (for the period 1943–1977) recorded by 58 climatic stations in the Albert–Victoria water management area in Uganda. Data were subjected to quality checks before further processing. In the present work, temporal trends were analyzed using Mann–Kendall and linear regression methods. Heterogeneity of monthly rainfall was investigated using the precipitation concentration index (PCI). Results revealed that 53 % of stations have positive trends where 25 % are statistically significant and 45 % of stations have negative trends with 23 % being statistically significant. Very strong trends at 99 % significance level were revealed at 12 stations. Positive trends in January, February, and November at 40 stations were observed. The highest rainfall was recorded in April, while January, June, and July had the lowest rainfall. Spatial analysis results showed that stations close to Lake Victoria recorded high amounts of rainfall. Average annual coefficient of variability was 19 %, signifying low variability. Rainfall distribution is bimodal with maximums experienced in March–April–May and September–October–November seasons of the year. Analysis also revealed that PCI values showed a moderate to seasonal rainfall distribution. Spectral analysis of the time components reveals the existence of a major period around 3, 6, and 10 years. The 6- and 10-year period is a characteristic of September–October–November, March–April–May, and annual time series.     

Some statistical characteristics of drought area variations in the savanna region of Nigeria

Summary The interannual variability of seasonal Bhalme-and-Mooley-type drought indices over the savanna belt of Nigeria is examined and a 57-year (1931–1987) drought area series has been derived using 34 stations. The area under drought conditions is obtained by considering areas which have drought indices of less than — 1.0. The interannual variability of the drought areas is large, demonstrating large variations in the seasonal rainfall over the region. Statistical tests suggest a significant long-term increasing trend in the areal extent of drought. In particular, there is a major shift towards an increase in the mean areal extent of drought between the two periods 1931–1960 and 1961–1987.With 4 Figures     

Evaluation of spatial and temporal characteristics of rainfall in Malawi: a case of data scarce region

This paper presents the methods, procedure and results in studying spatial and temporal characteristics of rainfall in Malawi, a data scarce region, between 1960 and 2006. Rainfall variables and indicators from rainfall readings at 42 stations in Malawi, excluding Lake Malawi, were analysed at monthly, seasonal and annual scales. In the study, the data were firstly subjected to quality checks through the cumulative deviations test and the standard normal homogeneity test. Spatial rainfall variability was investigated using the spatial correlation function. Temporal trends were analysed using Mann?CKendall and linear regression methods. Heterogeneity of monthly rainfall was investigated using the precipitation concentration index (PCI). Finally, inter-annual and intra-annual rainfall variability were tested using normalized precipitation anomaly series of annual rainfall series (|AR|) and the PCI (|APCI|), respectively. The results showed that (1) most stations revealed statistically non-significant decreasing rainfall trends for annual, seasonal, monthly and the individual months from March to December at the 5% significance level. The months of January and February (the highest rainfall months), however, had overall positive but statistically non-significant trends countrywide, suggesting more concentration of the seasonal rainfall around these months. (2) Spatial analysis results showed a complex rainfall pattern countrywide with annual mean of 1,095?mm centred to the south of the country and mean inter-annual variability of 26%. (3) Spatial correlation amongst stations was highest only within the first 20?km, typical of areas with strong small-scale climatic influence. (4) The country was further characterised by unstable monthly rainfall regimes, with all PCIs more than 10. (5) An increase in inter-annual rainfall variability was found.     

Trends in drought intensity and variability in the middle Ebro valley (NE of the Iberian peninsula) during the second half of the twentieth century

Summary Here we analyse trends in drought magnitude in the middle Ebro valley, a semi-arid area of the Iberian Peninsula, between 1951 and 2000. A significant increase in the severity of drought was identified from 1951 to 2000, and principal components analysis revealed three general patterns of drought evolution. Trend analysis of these patterns indicated that trend is significant only in northern areas (p < 0.01). Trends in drought variability were also analysed; a positive trend was recorded between 1951 and 2000. However, the overall results show a high degree of spatial variability. We show that this variability is determined by several geographic/topographic factors, mainly the distance to the Mediterranean Sea and the Bay of Biscay, water bodies that regulate the origin and direction of air masses and flows. It should also be noted that spatial variability of drought was detected because we used a dense database. Our results indicate that at the sub-regional level, drought patterns should be studied using a large amount of empirical data, since spatial variability may be relevant.     

Differential regional responses in drought length, intensity and timing to recent climate changes in a Mediterranean forested ecosystem

The Mediterranean area is one of the regions of the world where GCMs agree the most on precipitation changes due to climate change. In this study we aim to assess the impact of recent climate change on drought features of Mediterranean ecosystems in Southern France. Regional climatic trends for the 1971–2006 period are compared to drought trends based on a water balance model accounting for soil properties, vegetation structure and functioning. Drought, defined here as periods when soil water potentials drop below ??0.5 MPa, is described in terms of intensity, duration and timing, which are integrative of both climate variability and site conditions. Temporal trends in precipitation, temperature and solar radiation lead altogether to drier and warmer conditions over the region but with a high spatial heterogeneity; for similar climatic trends, a significant increase in drought intensity was detected in the wettest areas of the region, whereas drought intensity in the driest areas did not change. Indeed, in the wettest areas, we observed an earlier onset of drought by about 1 month, but a constant end of drought. In the driest areas of the region, we observed the same earlier onset of drought but combined with an earlier end of drought, thus leading to a shift of the dry season without increasing its duration. The definition of drought features both in terms of intensity but also of seasonal timing appears relevant to capture historical or forecasted changes in ecosystem functioning. Studies concerning climate change impacts on forested ecosystems should be interpreted with caution when using climate proxies alone.     

Climate variability and projected change in the western United States: regional downscaling and drought statistics

Climate change in the twenty-first century, projected by a large ensemble average of global coupled models forced by a mid-range (A1B) radiative forcing scenario, is downscaled to Climate Divisions across the western United States. A simple empirical downscaling technique is employed, involving model-projected linear trends in temperature or precipitation superimposed onto a repetition of observed twentieth century interannual variability. This procedure allows the projected trends to be assessed in terms of historical climate variability. The linear trend assumption provides a very close approximation to the time evolution of the ensemble-average climate change, while the imposition of repeated interannual variability is probably conservative. These assumptions are very transparent, so the scenario is simple to understand and can provide a useful baseline assumption for other scenarios that may incorporate more sophisticated empirical or dynamical downscaling techniques. Projected temperature trends in some areas of the western US extend beyond the twentieth century historical range of variability (HRV) of seasonal averages, especially in summer, whereas precipitation trends are relatively much smaller, remaining within the HRV. Temperature and precipitation scenarios are used to generate Division-scale projections of the monthly palmer drought severity index (PDSI) across the western US through the twenty-first century, using the twentieth century as a baseline. The PDSI is a commonly used metric designed to describe drought in terms of the local surface water balance. Consistent with previous studies, the PDSI trends imply that the higher evaporation rates associated with positive temperature trends exacerbate the severity and extent of drought in the semi-arid West. Comparison of twentieth century historical droughts with projected twenty-first century droughts (based on the prescribed repetition of twentieth century interannual variability) shows that the projected trend toward warmer temperatures inhibits recovery from droughts caused by decade-scale precipitation deficits.     

长江中下游气候的长期变化及基本态特征

研究了1885年以来，我国长江中下游四季及年降水量，四季及年平均气温的长期变化，指出长江中下游四个季及年的总降水量（平均气温）都是正的趋势，但有季节的差异，春季是升温同时增雨最显著的季节，还研究了我国长江中下游降水与气温的气候基本态及气候变率的特征及时间演变规律，指出，60年代以后夏季气温变化的异常程度几乎比以前大了一倍，在冬季，近期在暖背景下的冬季气温变率变小的特征表明长江中下游可能出现持续发暖冬特征，还指出，80年代后我国的长江中下游存季降水处于高基本态与高气候变率时段，应注意频繁发生的夏季洪涝灾害，研究还指出，长江中下游夏季降水与印度季风的气候基本态反相关密切，印度季风及东亚夏季风与长江中下游夏季气温变化在各种尺度上有明显的正相关。     

Spatiotemporal variations in rainfall erosivity during the period of 1960–2011 in Guangdong Province,southern China

Rainfall erosivity, which shows a potential risk of soil loss caused by water erosion, is an important factor in soil erosion process. In consideration of the critical condition of soil erosion induced by rainfall in Guangdong Province of southern China, this study analyzed the spatial and temporal variations in rainfall erosivity based on daily rainfall data observed at 25 meteorological stations during the period of 1960–2011. The methods of global spatial autocorrelation, kriging interpolation, Mann–Kendall test, and continuous wavelet transform were used. Results revealed that the annual rainfall erosivity in Guangdong Province, which spatially varied with the maximum level observed in June, was classified as high erosivity with two peaks that occur in spring and summer. In the direction of south–north, mean annual rainfall erosivity, which showed significant relationships with mean annual rainfall and latitude, gradually decreased with the high values mainly distributed in the coastal area and the low values mainly occurring in the lowlands of northwestern Guangdong. Meanwhile, a significant positive spatial autocorrelation which implied a clustered pattern was observed for annual rainfall erosivity. The spatial distribution of seasonal rainfall erosivity exhibited clustering tendencies, except spring erosivity with Moran’s I and Z values of 0.1 and 1.04, respectively. The spatial distribution of monthly rainfall erosivity presented clustered patterns in January–March and July–October as well as random patterns in the remaining months. The temporal trend of mean rainfall erosivity in Guangdong Province showed no statistically significant trend at the annual, seasonal, and monthly scales. However, at each station, 1 out of 25 stations exhibited a statistically significant trend at the annual scale; 4 stations located around the Pearl River Delta presented significant trends in summer at the seasonal scale; significant trends were observed in March (increasing trends at 3 stations), June (increasing trends at 4 stations located in the Beijiang River Basin), and October (decreasing trends at 4 stations) at the monthly scale. In accordance with the mean annual rainfall over Guangdong Province, the mean annual rainfall erosivity showed two significant periodicities of 3–6 and 10–12 years at a confidence level of 95 %. In conclusion, the results of this study provide insights into the spatiotemporal variation in rainfall erosivity in Guangdong Province and support for agrolandscape planning and water and soil conservation efforts in this region.     

Agroclimatological suitability mapping for dryland maize production in Lesotho

The climatic potential of maize under dryland farming in Lesotho, southern Africa, was investigated using five suitability indices comprising probability of accumulating heat units of greater than 1,500 growing degree days, probability of a frost-free growing season, probability of seasonal rainfall of more than 500 mm, probability of drought during the flowering to grain-filling stages and the slope of an area. A geographic information system layer was prepared for each of these parameters and the layers overlaid using different weights for each of the climatic suitability indices to obtain an agroclimatic maize suitability map for Lesotho. This analysis yielded different suitability classes. This variability points to prevalence of climatic constraints that need to be acknowledged when attempting to identify management strategies that can optimize the rain-fed maize production in climatically variable environments.     

基于自然灾害风险理论的黑龙江省玉米干旱风险评价

为了明确黑龙江省玉米干旱风险区划,为农业防灾减灾和保障玉米安全生产提供参考,选取黑龙江省玉米主要种植区44个农业气象站1971-2017年气象资料及农业资料,划分玉米全生育期为玉米生长前期（出苗-抽雄）,玉米生长后期（抽雄-成熟）,基于自然灾害风险评价方法,以水分亏缺指数确定不同生育期干旱指标,考虑危险性、暴露性、脆弱性和防灾减灾能力4项要素,引入权重系数,采用灰色关联度方法,确定四个因子对灾害发生的不同影响程度,构建危险性评估模型,评估黑龙江省玉米干旱风险,并进行了干旱风险区划。结果表明：在玉米不同发育期,干旱风险指数高值区均主要位于松嫩平原地区,其中,黑龙江西部地区为玉米干旱高风险区,中高值区分布在哈尔滨双城区以及绥化市肇东县。黑龙江省西南部地区肇州、肇源、安达等地区为中等风险区。而低值区主要分布在黑龙江东部三江平原地区以及黑河、伊春、牡丹江等地。研究结果可为黑龙江省玉米干旱防灾减灾工作提供理论依据。     

Precipitation climatology over India: validation with observations and reanalysis datasets and spatial trends

Changing rainfall patterns have significant effect on water resources, agriculture output in many countries, especially the country like India where the economy depends on rain-fed agriculture. Rainfall over India has large spatial as well as temporal variability. To understand the variability in rainfall, spatial–temporal analyses of rainfall have been studied by using 107 (1901–2007) years of daily gridded India Meteorological Department (IMD) rainfall datasets. Further, the validation of IMD precipitation data is carried out with different observational and different reanalysis datasets during the period from 1989 to 2007. The Global Precipitation Climatology Project data shows similar features as that of IMD with high degree of comparison, whereas Asian Precipitation-Highly-Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation data show similar features but with large differences, especially over northwest, west coast and western Himalayas. Spatially, large deviation is observed in the interior peninsula during the monsoon season with National Aeronautics Space Administration-Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (NASA-MERRA), pre-monsoon with Japanese 25 years Re Analysis (JRA-25), and post-monsoon with climate forecast system reanalysis (CFSR) reanalysis datasets. Among the reanalysis datasets, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Interim Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim) shows good comparison followed by CFSR, NASA-MERRA, and JRA-25. Further, for the first time, with high resolution and long-term IMD data, the spatial distribution of trends is estimated using robust regression analysis technique on the annual and seasonal rainfall data with respect to different regions of India. Significant positive and negative trends are noticed in the whole time series of data during the monsoon season. The northeast and west coast of the Indian region shows significant positive trends and negative trends over western Himalayas and north central Indian region.     

中国降水的季节性

本文使用一套基于中国气象局所属的2416个台站数据所得的高分辨降水资料,对1961~2013年中国降水季节性进行了研究。就全国平均而言,各季节降水占全年降水百分率最高的为夏季（56.5%）,春季（19.3%）和秋季（18.9%）次之,冬季（5.3%）最少;针对不同地区,各季节降水百分率存在很大差异,例如华南春季降水最多、东北至高原一线秋季降水大于春季降水。春、夏两季降水百分率高值（低值）区域略呈现出降水百分率减少（增多）趋势,秋季整体上略微减少,冬季则显著增加;季节降水百分率的变率整体表现为夏季大而冬季小,其西部的变率与地形为显著负相关,东部变率的大值区位置随季节变化;秋冬两季的降水百分率变率有显著增加,各季节不同地区变率的变化趋势存在明显差异。     

Scenario Analysis on the Adaptation of Different Maize Varieties to Future Climate Change in Northeast China

Based on gridded meteorological data for the period 1981–2100 from the RegCM3 regional model, the changing trends of climatic resources in Northeast China are analyzed, and the distributions of maize varieties are accordingly adjusted. In order to explore the effects of different adaptation countermeasures on climatic productivity and meteorological suitability in the future, maize cultivars with resistance to high temperatures and/or drought are selected. The results show that, in the future, there is likely to be a significant increase in thermal resources, and potential atmospheric evaporation will increase correspondingly.Meanwhile, radiation is predicted to increase significantly during 2041–2070 in the growing season. However, changes in precipitation are unlikely to be sufficient enough to offset the intensification in atmospheric evaporation caused by the temperature increase. Water resources and high temperatures are found to be the two major factors constraining grain yield. The results also show that the warming climate will be favorable for maize production where thermal resources are already limited, such as in central and northern Heilongjiang Province and eastern Jilin Province; while in areas that are already relatively warm, such as Liaoning Province, climatic productivity will be reduced. The climatic productivity and the meteorological suitability of maize are found to improve when the planting of resistant varieties is modeled. The utilization of agricultural climatic resources through the adaptation countermeasures of maize varieties is to increase obviously with time. Specifically, maize with drought-resistant properties will have a marked influence on meteorological suitability during 2011–2070, with suitable areas expanding. During 2071–2100, those maize varieties with their upper limit of optimum temperature and maximum temperature increased by 2℃, or water requirement reduced to 94%, or upper limit of optimum temperature and maximum temperature increased by 1℃ and water requirement reduced to 98%, all exhibit significant differences in climatic potential productivity, compared to the present-day varieties. The meteorological suitability of maize is predicted to increase in some parts of Heilongjiang Provine, with the eastern boundary of the "unavailable" area shifting westward.     

Geographic Variation in Growing Season Rainfall during three Decades in Nigeria Using Principal Component and Cluster Analyses

Summary  Reports of changes in the seasonal and annual rainfall in Nigeria suggests that a more detailed analyses of the geographic extent of these changes and of their impact on agriculture could be of value. Variation in the growing season (April to September) rainfall from stations across Nigeria was analysed over the 30-yr period, 1960–90. Regression analyses were used to examine long-term trends. Principal component and cluster analyses were used to group stations with similar trends in standardised seasonal rainfall. Mean accumulated standardised seasonal rainfall were used to examine short- and medium-term trends for each of the groups identified. Significant (P ≤ 0.05) decreases in rainy season rainfall were found at 8 stations mostly in the Guinea and arid/semi-arid savannas of northern Nigeria, whereas no station showed significant increases. Examination of the monthly (April through September) rainfall showed that only three – Kano, Sokoto and Potiskum in the arid/semi-arid savanna – of the twenty-three stations used in the analysis had declining rainfall trends for each of the months April to September and subsequently declining seasonal rainfall trends. However, 12 to 15 stations had consistently declining rainfall trends in atleast some but not all the growing season months. However, a similar pattern was not the case in terms of increasing rainfall trends, where only one to three stations had consistently increasing rainfall trends in some but not all of the months from April to September. Stations that showed increasing rainfall trends were in the southern parts of Nigeria. Six groups with similar patterns in standardised seasonal rainfall were identified by Principal Component and Cluster analyses. For most of the groups, the period from 1967 to 1973 was that of consistently below average seasonal rainfall. However, the timing and extent of the decline varied with location. Common to stations in four of the six groups was a negative trend in seasonal rainfall for the period considered. The geographic variation in seasonal rainfall trends has tremendous agricultural significance since there are indications that the reliability of the season is decreasing from the humid forest zone with positive seasonal trends to the arid/semi-arid savanna with significant negative seasonal trends. Received June 24, 1998 Revised December 18, 1998     

旱灾成灾综合指数的研究

分析了旱灾成灾的主要影响因素。指出作物的需水状况及环境对水的供应状况是决定旱灾能否发生的关键因素。自然降水的变异、土层水的调贮量、作物不同生育期对缺雨的反应状况及人类活动都会对灾情产生影响。因为不同生育阶段作物的水分敏感度不同，旱灾不是单凭降水距平就可以完全确定，必须根据缺雨程度、缺雨持续时间和缺雨期间作物对水分的敏感度等情况进行综合评价，并给出了全面评价成灾状况的旱灾综合指数。     

Quantitative evaluation of climatic variability and risks for wheat yield in India

This study comprises (1) an analysis of recent climate trends at two sites in north-west India (Ludhiana in Punjab and Delhi) and (2) an impact and risk assessment for wheat yields associated with climatic variability. North-west Indian agriculture is dominated by rice-wheat rotation in which the wheat season (‘rabi’, November to March) is characterized by predominantly dry conditions—superimposed by very high inter-annual variability of rainfall (17 to 260 mm in Ludhiana and <1 to 155 mm in Delhi). While rainfall remained without discernable trend over the last three decades, minimum and average temperatures showed increasing trends of 0.06 and 0.03°C year^???1, respectively, at Ludhiana. The site in (metropolitan) Delhi was apparently influenced by city-effects, which was noticeable from the decrease in solar radiation of 0.09 MJ m^???2 day^???1 year^???1. The CERES-wheat model was used to calculate yields of rainfed wheat that were at both locations highly correlated with seasonal rainfall. An assessment framework was developed to quantify yield impacts due to rainfall variability in three steps: (1) data from different years were aggregated into four classes, i.e., years with scarce, low, moderate, and high rainfall, (2) yield records of each rainfall class were ranked according to yield to facilitate (3) a comparison of yields with identical rank, i.e. among the best yield of each class, the second-best, etc. The class with moderate rainfall was taken as baseline yield to compute yield impacts of other rainfall scenarios. Years with scarce rainfall resulted in only 34% (Ludhiana) and 35% (Delhi) of the baseline yield. The yields in years with low rainfall accounted for 61% (Delhi) and 49% (Ludhiana) of the baseline yields. In Ludhiana, high rainfall years resulted in 200% yield as compared to the baseline yield, whereas they reached only 105% in Delhi. Low-intensity (1× and 3×) irrigation decreased the relative yield losses, but entailed a higher vulnerability in terms of absolute yield losses. Only high-intensity (4×) irrigation buffered wheat yields against adverse rainfall years. Early sowing was beneficial for wheat yields under all rainfall scenarios. The framework could be a valuable decision-support tool at the farm level where seasonal rainfall variability is high.     

Probabilities and distribution of monsoon rainfall in normal, flood and drought years over India

Summary The paper deals with the variability of summer-monsoon rainfall during normal, flood and drought years over India. During flood years the monsoon rainfall increases mostly all over parts of the country and large area less than 100 cm isohytel covers Orissa and adjoining Madhya Pradesh. During drought years the rainfall amount decreases over the entire country and isohytel of 100 cm shrinks to almost a point. The variability of monsoon rainfall from flood to normal to drought years depends upon the number of depression/low-pressure area which form over the North Bay and move inland. To understand the intraseasonal and interannual variability of the monsoon rainfall, daily and seasonal anomalies has been performed by using the Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis. Further Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis is carried out on these data to find out the nature of rainfall distribution in different monsoon categories namely normal, flood and drought years. This technique thus serves to identify spatial and temporal patterns characteristics of possible physical significance. Received July 25, 2000/Revised September 26, 2000     

旱灾成灾综合指数的研究

分析了旱灾成灾的主要影响因素。指出作物的需水 状况及环境对水的供应状况是决定旱灾能否发生的关键因素。自然降水的变异、土层水的调贮量、作物不同生育期对缺雨的反应状况及人类活动都会对灾害情产生影响。     

Droughts and famines: The underlying factors and the causal links among agro-pastoral households in semi-arid Makueni district, Kenya

Famines are often linked to drought in semi-arid areas of Sub-Saharan Africa where not only pastoralists, but also increasingly agro-pastoralists are affected. This study addresses the interplay between drought and famine in the rural semi-arid areas of Makueni district, Kenya, by examining whether, and how crop production conditions and agro-pastoral strategies predispose smallholder households to drought-triggered food insecurity. If this hypothesis holds, then approaches to deal with drought and famine have to target factors causing household food insecurity during non-drought periods. Data from a longitudinal survey of 127 households, interviews, workshops, and daily rainfall records (1961–2003) were analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods. This integrated approach confirms the above hypothesis and reveals that factors other than rainfall, like asset and labour constraints, inadequate policy enforcement, as well as the poverty-driven inability to adopt risk-averse production systems play a key role. When linking these factors to the high rainfall variability, farmer-relevant definitions and forecasts of drought have to be applied.     

Spatial and temporal variability of the frequency of extreme daily rainfall regime in the La Plata Basin during the 20th century

We analyzed trends, interdecadal variability, and the quantification of the changes in the frequency of daily rainfall for two thresholds: 0.1 mm and percentile 75th, using high quality daily series from 52 stations in the La Plata Basin (LPB). We observed increases in the annual frequencies in spatially coherent areas. This coherence was more marked in austral summer, autumn, and spring, during which the greatest increases occurred in southern Brazil, especially during extreme events. In winter, the low and middle basins of the Río Uruguay and Río Paraná showed negative trends, some of which were significant. Interdecadal variability is well defined in the region with more pronounced positive jumps west of the basin between 1950 and 2000. This variability was particularly more marked during periods of extreme rainfall in summer, autumn, and spring, unlike in winter when extreme daily rainfall in the lower Rio Paraná basin decreased by up to 60%. The changes in the past century during extreme rainfall produced modifications in the annual rainfall cycle. The annual cycle of both indices was broader during the last period which is mainly explained by the strong decreases in winter.