Trend Analysis of Climatic and Hydrological Variables in the Awash River Basin, Ethiopia
Mohammed Gedefaw,
Hao Wang,
Denghua Yan,
Xinshan Song,
Dengming Yan,
Guaqiang Dong,
Jianwei Wang,
Abel Girma,
Babar Aijaz Ali,
Dorjsuren Batsuren,
Asaminew Abiyu,
Tianling Qin
Affiliations
Mohammed Gedefaw
College of Environmental Science & Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 200336, China
Hao Wang
State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resource and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China
Denghua Yan
State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resource and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China
Xinshan Song
College of Environmental Science & Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 200336, China
Dengming Yan
College of Environmental Science & Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 200336, China
Guaqiang Dong
College of Environmental Science & Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 200336, China
Jianwei Wang
State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resource and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China
Abel Girma
College of Environmental Science & Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 200336, China
Babar Aijaz Ali
College of Environmental Science & Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 200336, China
Dorjsuren Batsuren
College of Environmental Science & Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 200336, China
Asaminew Abiyu
College of Environmental Science & Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 200336, China
Tianling Qin
State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resource and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China
The Awash river basin has been the most extensively developed and used river basin in Ethiopia since modern agriculture was introduced. This paper investigated the annual precipitation, temperature, and river discharge variability using the innovative trend analysis method (ITAM), Mann⁻Kendall (MK) test, and Sen’s slope estimator test. The results showed that the trend of annual precipitation was significantly increasing in Fitche (Z = 0.82) and Gewane (Z = 0.80), whereas the trend in Bui (Z = 69) was slightly decreasing and the trend in Sekoru (Z = 0.45) was sharply decreasing. As far as temperature trends were concerned, a statistically significant increasing trend was observed in Fitche (Z = 3.77), Bui (Z = 4.84), and Gewane (Z = 5.59). However, the trend in Sekoru (Z = 1.37) was decreasing with statistical significance. The discharge in the study basin showed a decreasing trend during the study period. Generally, the increasing and decreasing levels of precipitation, temperature, and discharge across the stations in this study indicate the change in trends. The results of this study could help researchers, policymakers, and water resources managers to understand the variability of precipitation, temperature, and river discharge over the study basin.
