Abstract
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.
Highlights
Water resources development is essential to bring about sustainable development and overall economic growth [1]
This paper aims to investigate the trends and changes of climatic and hydrological variables of the Awash river basin from 1980 to 2016
Trend analysis was used to investigate whether the trend was upward, downward, or there was no trend in the data value points
Summary
Water resources development is essential to bring about sustainable development and overall economic growth [1]. The integrated water resources management in a river basin described in this case study is essential for the economic welfare of the society and healthy environmental function. The change in precipitation alters the hydrological systems, affecting water resources in both quantity and quality [4]. Global climate change has changed the availability of water resources in developing countries [5]. The change in precipitation may greatly affect the hydrological systems of river basins. The discharge of many rivers in the world has been changing due to climate change and intensive human activities [6]
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