Regional impacts of global change: seasonal trends in extreme rainfall, run-off and temperature in two contrasting regions of Morocco

Abstract

In Morocco, socio-economic activities are highly vulnerable to extreme weather events. This study investigates trends in mean and extreme rainfall, run-off and temperature, as well as their relationship with large-scale atmospheric circulation. It focuses on two Moroccan watersheds: the subhumid climate region of Bouregreg in the north and the semi-arid region of Tensift in the south, using data from 1977 to 2003. The study is based on a set of daily temperature, precipitation and run-off time series retrieved from weather stations in the two regions. Results do not show a homogeneous behaviour in the two catchments; the influence of the large-scale atmospheric circulation is different and a clear spatial dependence of the trend analysis linked to the distance from the coast and the mountains can be observed. Overall, temperature trends are mostly positive in the studied area, while weak statistically significant trends can be identified in seasonal rainfall, extreme rainfall events, average run-off and extreme run-off events.