Ground-based climate data show evidence of warming and intensification of the seasonal rainfall cycle during the 1960–2020 period in Yangambi, central Congo Basin

Emmanuel Kasongo Yakusu (), Joris Van Acker, Hans Van de Vyver, Nils Bourland, José Mbifo Ndiapo, Théophile Besango Likwela, Michel Lokonda Wa Kipifo, Amand Mbuya Kankolongo, Jan Van den Bulcke, Hans Beeckman, Marijn Bauters, Pascal Boeckx, Hans Verbeeck, Kim Jacobsen, Gaston Demarée, Françoise Gellens-Meulenberghs and Wannes Hubau
Additional contact information
Emmanuel Kasongo Yakusu: UGent-Woodlab, Ghent University
Joris Van Acker: UGent-Woodlab, Ghent University
Hans Van de Vyver: Meteorological and Climatological Research, Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium
Nils Bourland: Royal Museum for Central Africa
José Mbifo Ndiapo: Institut National Pour La Recherche Et L’Etude Agronomiques
Théophile Besango Likwela: Institut National Pour La Recherche Et L’Etude Agronomiques
Michel Lokonda Wa Kipifo: Institut National Pour La Recherche Et L’Etude Agronomiques
Amand Mbuya Kankolongo: Institut National Pour La Recherche Et L’Etude Agronomiques
Jan Van den Bulcke: UGent-Woodlab, Ghent University
Hans Beeckman: Royal Museum for Central Africa
Marijn Bauters: Isotope Bioscience Laboratory—ISOFYS, Ghent University
Pascal Boeckx: Isotope Bioscience Laboratory—ISOFYS, Ghent University
Hans Verbeeck: UGent-CAVElab, Ghent University
Kim Jacobsen: Royal Museum for Central Africa
Gaston Demarée: Meteorological and Climatological Research, Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium
Françoise Gellens-Meulenberghs: Meteorological and Climatological Research, Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium
Wannes Hubau: UGent-Woodlab, Ghent University

Climatic Change, 2023, vol. 176, issue 10, No 12, 28 pages

Abstract: Abstract Meteorological stations are rare in central Africa, which leads to uncertainty in regional climatic trends. This is particularly problematic for the Congo Basin, where station coverage decreased significantly during the last few decades. Here, we present a digitized dataset of daily temperature and precipitation from the Yangambi biosphere reserve, covering the period 1960–2020 (61 years) and located in the heart of the Congo Basin. Our results confirm a long-term increase in temperature and temperature extremes since the 1960s, with strong upward trends since the early 1990s. Our results also indicate a drying trend for the dry season and intensification of the wet season since the early 2000s. Ongoing warming and increasing precipitation seasonality and intensity already have a significant impact on crop yields in Yangambi. This calls for urgent development of climate-smart and dynamic agriculture and agroforestry systems. We conclude that systematic digitization and climate recording in the Congo Basin will be critical to improve much-needed gridded benchmark datasets of climatic variables.

Keywords: Congo Basin; Warming; Precipitation seasonality; Digitization; Historical data; Station coverage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10584-023-03606-0

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