Articles | Volume 12, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-17-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-17-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
06 Jan 2021
Research article |
| 06 Jan 2021
| 06 Jan 2021
Impact of precipitation and increasing temperatures on drought trends in eastern Africa
Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Sjoukje Y. Philip
Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Mathias Hauser
Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Mike Hobbins
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Physical Sciences Laboratory, NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratories, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Niko Wanders
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Geert Jan van Oldenborgh
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Karin van der Wiel
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Ted I. E. Veldkamp
Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Joyce Kimutai
Kenya Meteorological Department, Nairobi, Kenya
Chris Funk
U.S. Geological Survey Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA
Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
Friederike E. L. Otto
School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Data sets
East African drought study S. F. Kew and S. Y. Philip https://climexp.knmi.nl/EastAfrica_timeseries.cgi
Short summary
Motivated by the possible influence of rising temperatures, this study synthesises results from observations and climate models to explore trends (1900–2018) in eastern African (EA) drought measures. However, no discernible trends are found in annual soil moisture or precipitation. Positive trends in potential evaporation indicate that for irrigated regions more water is now required to counteract increased evaporation. Precipitation deficit is, however, the most useful indicator of EA drought.
Motivated by the possible influence of rising temperatures, this study synthesises results from...
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