Rainfall Projections from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 in the Volta River Basin: Implications on Achieving Sustainable Development

Sam-Quarcoo Dotse, Isaac Larbi (), Andrew Manoba Limantol, Peter Asare-Nuamah, Louis Kusi Frimpong, Abdul-Rauf Malimanga Alhassan, Solomon Sarpong, Emmanuel Angmor and Angela Kyerewaa Ayisi-Addo
Additional contact information
Sam-Quarcoo Dotse: School of Sustainable Development, University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Somanya 00233, Ghana
Isaac Larbi: School of Sustainable Development, University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Somanya 00233, Ghana
Andrew Manoba Limantol: School of Sustainable Development, University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Somanya 00233, Ghana
Peter Asare-Nuamah: School of Sustainable Development, University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Somanya 00233, Ghana
Louis Kusi Frimpong: School of Sustainable Development, University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Somanya 00233, Ghana
Abdul-Rauf Malimanga Alhassan: School of Sustainable Development, University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Somanya 00233, Ghana
Solomon Sarpong: School of Natural and Environmental Science, University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Somanya 00233, Ghana
Emmanuel Angmor: School of Sustainable Development, University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Somanya 00233, Ghana
Angela Kyerewaa Ayisi-Addo: School of Sustainable Development, University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Somanya 00233, Ghana

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: Climate change has become a global issue, not only because it affects the intensity and frequency of rainfall but also because it impacts the economic development of regions whose economies heavily rely on rainfall, such as the West African region. Hence, the need for this study, which is aimed at understanding how rainfall may change in the future over the Sahel, Savannah, and coastal zones of the Volta River Basin (VRB). The trends and changes in rainfall between 2021–2050 and 1985–2014 under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5) scenarios were analyzed after evaluating the performance of three climate models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) using Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS) as observation. The results show, in general, a relatively high correlation and low spatial biases for rainfall (r > 0.91, −20% < Pbias < 20%) over the entire Volta Basin for the models’ ensemble mean. An increasing trend and projected increase in annual rainfall under the SSP2-4.5 scenario is 6.0% (Sahel), 7.3% (Savannah), and 2.6% (VRB), but a decrease of 1.1% in the coastal zone. Similarly, under SSP5-8.5, the annual rainfall is projected to increase by 32.5% (Sahel), +22.8% (Savannah), 23.0% (coastal), and 24.9% (VRB), with the increase being more pronounced under SSP5-8.5 compared to the SSP2-4.5 scenario. The findings of the study would be useful for planning and designing climate change adaptation measures to achieve sustainable development at the VRB.

Keywords: climate change; trend analysis; climate models; climate scenarios; Volta Basin (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/2/1472/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/2/1472/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:2:p:1472-:d:1033788

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().