Abstract
Water resources within Bamenda continue to face climate related stress. This paper sought to assess the impact of climate variability and change on water resources in Bamenda metropolis. Questionnaires, field study and historic climatic data were used to evaluate effects of climatic variability and changes on water resources. Two Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5) scenarios were used to project climatic data. Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) was used to determine drought. Irregular rainfall and water shortage were the foremost challenges experienced by the population. Historic data showed an annual decrease in precipitation and increase in temperature. Precipitation shift and a low R-squared values (0.04 - 0.47) for precipitation indicated climatic variation. Decrease precipitation (gradient -11.84) coincided with the periods of droughts (1993 - 2019) given by the negative values of SPI (up to -3). The hydrological changes realised were 23 springs and 13 streams dry off and 27 springs and 16 streams have become seasonal. Projected data showed increase in precipitation and temperature, leaving Bamenda with the challenge of poor water quality that negatively affects public health and development. This study highlights the need to adopt current water and drought management practice in this area.
Highlights
Water resources are subjected to hydro-climatic variability and could be a key constraint to economic development Niang et al (2014)
The rainy season lasting for about seven months and an annual average precipitation ranges from 1,700-2,824mm Kometa and Akoh (2012)
The most outstanding indicators were irregular rainfall (31.9%), water shortages (16.6%), increasing temperatures (14.2%) and prolonged dry seasons (10.6%)
Summary
Water resources are subjected to hydro-climatic variability and could be a key constraint to economic development Niang et al (2014). Climate variability over space and time can cause water stress IPCC 2014 which can negatively affect economic development Kirono et al (2017). In the tropics, Climate change can significantly reduce renewable surface water and groundwater resources Fahey et al (2017), IPCC, (2014). This can cause increased competition for water thereby affecting regional water, energy and food security Bertram et al (2017)
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