Spatiotemporal drought occurrences in the semi‐closed Raya graben along the northern Ethiopian Rift Valley

Abstract

Drought has become a major challenge in many Sub‐Saharan Africa countries. This study aimed to investigate the precipitation trends and drought incidents in the semi‐closed Raya graben in Ethiopia. Monthly precipitation records of nine meteorological stations for the years 1980–2016 were studied. The spatio‐temporal drought conditions were analysed using Man‐Kendall and Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) techniques. A decreasing trend of precipitation was observed during the spring season (March−May) (p < 0.01). Many meteorological drought years were identified since 1980, occurring at varying temporal frequencies. Similarly, agricultural drought was occurring continuously for 1−5 years at an interval of five years. Our results also showed major hydrological droughts that persisted for 2−4 years occurring at an interval of five years. Almost all stations experienced an average intensity of moderate and above drought conditions during their agricultural and hydrological drought periods. Drought risk increased with the growing frequency of extreme drought events occurring every 14 months. Spatially, the southern and eastern parts were found to be more vulnerable to frequent, intense and longer drought conditions as compared to the western graben escarpment. Therefore, building adaptive capacity to climate change and extreme events is recommended to reduce the consequences of drought incidents in the Raya graben and northern Ethiopia.

Geospatial solutions for evaluating the impact of the Tigray conflict on farming

“…The latter area represents the western escarpments of the Rift Valley where elongated and somehow interconnected forest covers are found. That might be related to the endowment of the area for bi-modal rainfall patterns, with small rains in spring between March (1) Id(x, y) = I1(x, y) − I2(x, y), and May, and high rainfall in the summer season between July and September (Gebrehiwot et al 2022). As is indicated in the maps in Fig.…”

“…More than three quarters of the people of Tigray depend on agriculture mainly coming from subsistence farming (Regional State of Tigray 2018). Farmers typically prepare their land during the spring season (March-May) for cropping during the summer rainy season (Gebrehiwot et al 2022;Tsegay et al 2019). The farmers start their preparation even earlier than March, as the land preparation requires ploughing multiple times (Gebreegziabher et al 2009).…”