Trends and Geostatistical Interpolation of Spatio-Temporal Variability of Precipitation in Northern Cameroon

摘要

This paper examines the spatial and temporal variability of the mean annual precipitation in the Northern Cameroon on the context of climate change during the time period 1950-2013. The study used homogeneous monthly and annual precipitations database of twenty-five stations located in the Northern Cameroon and Southern Chad Republic. Geostatisticals interpolation methods (Kriging and Inverse Distance Weighting method) associated with Digital Elevation Model were used to establish the spatial distribution of annuals precipitations. The non-parametric Mann- Kendall test and Sen’s slope method were performed to determine respectively trend and magnitude. The result indicates a spatial distribution of precipitation mainly determined by the topography and the geography of the study area. The trend analysis shows a decrease of annual average precipitation across the Northern Cameroon at a rate of ?0.568 mm/year over the time period 1950-2013. The magnitude of decreasing trends ranged between 0.11 and 3.92 mm/year. Statistically significant decreasing trends at the 95% level of confidence were noted at 10% while 5% of stations showed statistically significant increasing. However, 60% of stations indicate a decreasing trend. Monthly analysis of rainfall shows a decreasing trend during June and September while July and August present an increasing trend.