Authors : Francis Opiyo, Moses Nyangito, Oliver Vivian Wasonga and Phillip Omondi
Abstract: Scrutiny of seasonal, monthly and inter-annual temporal and spatial variability of rainfall and temperature in a changing climate is vital to assess climate-induced changes and suggest adequate future adaptation strategies for vulnerable communities in arid and semi-arid environments. This present study focused on temporal trends analysis of in-siturainfall and temperature record for Lodwar in Turkana County, Kenya using non-parametric Mann-Kendall test statistic (Z) at 5% significance level. The datasets used were rainfall (1950 to 2012) and temperature (1979 to 2012). The findings showed that the highest and lowest annual rainfall recorded was in 1982 (725.1 mm) and 1984 (54.2 mm), respectively while the month of December in 1961 was the highest single monthly rainfall (197.7 mm). Further results revealed that among the seasons, a notice able decrease of rainfall was observed in March to May (MAM) and slight increase in October to December (OND) based on trends analysis, though one of the seasons was statistically significant at 95% confidence interval. January recorded the highest mean monthly temperature of 36.97°C while December had the lowest 20.22°C. All the seasonal maximum and minimum temperature trends were statistically significant. In overall, the findings demonstrated that a significant rise in both maximum and minimum temperatures occurred between 1979 and 2012 and this is in line with recent trends of global warning as reported by the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. The significance of these findings is that it could support various policy makers and development partners working in Kenya arid and semi-arid environments to see, on a local scale what temperature changes are being observed and to aid in better planning for a changing climate.
Francis Opiyo, Moses Nyangito, Oliver Vivian Wasonga and Phillip Omondi, 2014. Trend Analysis of Rainfall and Temperature Variability in Arid Environment of Turkana, Kenya. Environmental Research Journal, 8: 30-43.