Rainfall and streamflow variability in North Benin, West Africa, and its multiscale association with climate teleconnections
Study region: Three tributaries of the Niger River, covering 48,000 km² in northern Benin, West Africa. Study focus: Understanding rainfall and streamflow variability in a warming world is crucial for drought-prone West Africa, whose economy relies heavily on rain-fed agriculture. This study explore...
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825001430 |
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| author | Orou Moctar Ganni Mampo Kossi François Guedje Bruno Merz Ezéchiel Obada Ravi Kumar Guntu Halissou Yarou Adéchina Eric Alamou Jean Hounkpe |
| author_facet | Orou Moctar Ganni Mampo Kossi François Guedje Bruno Merz Ezéchiel Obada Ravi Kumar Guntu Halissou Yarou Adéchina Eric Alamou Jean Hounkpe |
| author_sort | Orou Moctar Ganni Mampo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Study region: Three tributaries of the Niger River, covering 48,000 km² in northern Benin, West Africa. Study focus: Understanding rainfall and streamflow variability in a warming world is crucial for drought-prone West Africa, whose economy relies heavily on rain-fed agriculture. This study explores past changes (1970–2020) in catchment rainfall and streamflow and their association with climate teleconnections. New hydrological insights for the region: We find consistent rainfall patterns across the three catchments, with a recovery from the 1970s-1980s droughts starting in the 1990s. Total rainfall has increased significantly driven by more rainy days, although the wet day rainfall amount has decreased. These results can be summarized as ‘increased total rainfall, but less intense and more variable in space’. More rain, however, does not mean that the drought situation is alleviated, as high interannual and decadal variability persists. Wavelet coherence reveals that rainfall and streamflow variability are modulated by the climate teleconnections ENSO, AMO, and IOD. For rainfall, we find a tendency of a shift from lower-frequency coherence (4–10 years) in earlier decades to higher-frequency coherence (1–3 years) in recent decades. These patterns are less pronounced for streamflow due to indirect climate influences. Unlike many African studies relying on model simulations, these findings are based on quality-checked, dense station data networks, essential for understanding local climate impacts, water management, and early warning systems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-086b3d8da8694f8b86bcbca7c20ad7f8 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2214-5818 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-086b3d8da8694f8b86bcbca7c20ad7f82025-08-20T03:13:07ZengElsevierJournal of Hydrology: Regional Studies2214-58182025-06-015910231910.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102319Rainfall and streamflow variability in North Benin, West Africa, and its multiscale association with climate teleconnectionsOrou Moctar Ganni Mampo0Kossi François Guedje1Bruno Merz2Ezéchiel Obada3Ravi Kumar Guntu4Halissou Yarou5Adéchina Eric Alamou6Jean Hounkpe7Graduate Research Programme on Climate Change and Water Resources (GRP CCWR), West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land, Use (WASCAL), Universite d’Abomey Calavi, Cotonou 03 BP 526, Benin; Laboratory of Applied Hydrology, National Water Institute, University of Abomey-Calavi, Abomey-Calavi BP 2549, Benin; Section 4.4: Hydrology, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam 14473, Germany; Corresponding author at: Graduate Research Programme on Climate Change and Water Resources (GRP CCWR), West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land, Use (WASCAL), Universite d’Abomey Calavi, Cotonou 03 BP 526, Benin.Laboratoire de Physique de l′Atmosphère (LPA) de l’ Université d′Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Abomey-Calavi, BeninSection 4.4: Hydrology, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam 14473, Germany; Institute of Environmental Sciences and Geography, University of Potsdam, GermanyLaboratoire de Géoscience de l’Environnement et Application (LaGEA/UNSTIM), Abomey, Benin; Laboratory of Applied Hydrology, National Water Institute, University of Abomey-Calavi, Abomey-Calavi BP 2549, BeninSection 4.4: Hydrology, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam 14473, GermanyLaboratory of Applied Hydrology, National Water Institute, University of Abomey-Calavi, Abomey-Calavi BP 2549, BeninLaboratoire de Géoscience de l’Environnement et Application (LaGEA/UNSTIM), Abomey, Benin; Laboratory of Applied Hydrology, National Water Institute, University of Abomey-Calavi, Abomey-Calavi BP 2549, BeninGraduate Research Programme on Climate Change and Water Resources (GRP CCWR), West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land, Use (WASCAL), Universite d’Abomey Calavi, Cotonou 03 BP 526, Benin; Laboratory of Applied Hydrology, National Water Institute, University of Abomey-Calavi, Abomey-Calavi BP 2549, BeninStudy region: Three tributaries of the Niger River, covering 48,000 km² in northern Benin, West Africa. Study focus: Understanding rainfall and streamflow variability in a warming world is crucial for drought-prone West Africa, whose economy relies heavily on rain-fed agriculture. This study explores past changes (1970–2020) in catchment rainfall and streamflow and their association with climate teleconnections. New hydrological insights for the region: We find consistent rainfall patterns across the three catchments, with a recovery from the 1970s-1980s droughts starting in the 1990s. Total rainfall has increased significantly driven by more rainy days, although the wet day rainfall amount has decreased. These results can be summarized as ‘increased total rainfall, but less intense and more variable in space’. More rain, however, does not mean that the drought situation is alleviated, as high interannual and decadal variability persists. Wavelet coherence reveals that rainfall and streamflow variability are modulated by the climate teleconnections ENSO, AMO, and IOD. For rainfall, we find a tendency of a shift from lower-frequency coherence (4–10 years) in earlier decades to higher-frequency coherence (1–3 years) in recent decades. These patterns are less pronounced for streamflow due to indirect climate influences. Unlike many African studies relying on model simulations, these findings are based on quality-checked, dense station data networks, essential for understanding local climate impacts, water management, and early warning systems.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825001430Niger River BasinWest AfricaRainfallStreamflowTeleconnectionDrought |
| spellingShingle | Orou Moctar Ganni Mampo Kossi François Guedje Bruno Merz Ezéchiel Obada Ravi Kumar Guntu Halissou Yarou Adéchina Eric Alamou Jean Hounkpe Rainfall and streamflow variability in North Benin, West Africa, and its multiscale association with climate teleconnections Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies Niger River Basin West Africa Rainfall Streamflow Teleconnection Drought |
| title | Rainfall and streamflow variability in North Benin, West Africa, and its multiscale association with climate teleconnections |
| title_full | Rainfall and streamflow variability in North Benin, West Africa, and its multiscale association with climate teleconnections |
| title_fullStr | Rainfall and streamflow variability in North Benin, West Africa, and its multiscale association with climate teleconnections |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rainfall and streamflow variability in North Benin, West Africa, and its multiscale association with climate teleconnections |
| title_short | Rainfall and streamflow variability in North Benin, West Africa, and its multiscale association with climate teleconnections |
| title_sort | rainfall and streamflow variability in north benin west africa and its multiscale association with climate teleconnections |
| topic | Niger River Basin West Africa Rainfall Streamflow Teleconnection Drought |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825001430 |
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