A note on air temperature and precipitation variability and extremes over Asmara: 1914–2015

• Published in: International journal of climatology 2019-11, Vol.39 (14), p.5215-5227
• Main Authors: Fessehaye, Mussie, Brugnara, Yuri, Savage, Michael J., Brönnimann, Stefan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air temperature; Annual precipitation; climate extremes; climate variation; Climate variations; Climatic indexes; Daily precipitation; Data analysis; Diurnal; Eritrea; Extreme weather; Hydrologic data; Mathematical analysis; Outliers (statistics); Precipitation; Precipitation data; Precipitation variability; RClimDex; Reliability analysis; Seasonal precipitation; Temperature data; Temperature effects; Temperature range
• ISSN: 0899-8418; 1097-0088
• DOI: 10.1002/joc.6134

Meteorological series (daily precipitation, minimum and maximum air temperature) for Asmara (Eritrea) for the last 100 years (1914–2015) are analysed. The data were quality‐controlled and homogenized using publicly available data from surrounding countries as well as newly recovered data from 12 stations in Eritrea. Overall, the Asmara data showed a consistent pattern and there were no outliers outside of four standard deviations from the corresponding reference. Climate indices were calculated using the program RClimDex. Overall, 8 indices for description of the air temperature data and 10 for precipitation data were calculated. The analyses of averages and indices reveal large climatic variations in the central highlands of Eritrea. The results indicate significant changes in air temperature since 1943, with daily minimum and maximum air temperature increasing at a similar rate of 0.22 and 0.19°C/decade, respectively. The diurnal air temperature range shows a non‐significant decreasing trend over the study period. No significant variation was found in the annual total and the seasonal precipitation over the last century. Significant trends were detected for some daily precipitation indices, although the lack of reference series prevents an evaluation of their reliability. The central highlands of Eritrea account for 18% (22,569 km2) of the total surface area (124,320 km2) of the country. However, it inhabits 65% of the total population (about 5 million), where 80% of the population depends mainly on agriculture and livestock production. Thus, the study of climate change and prediction of extreme weather condition is timely and vital for the Eritrean community.