Abstract:
Extreme weather and climate events including extreme precipitation have increased in
frequency, intensity, and severity due to climate change and hit vulnerable communities
disproportionately hard. However, there is a gap in the understanding of the characteristics
of extreme precipitation and their effects on socio-economic activities in sub-Saharan
Africa societies. The study utilized climate hazards group infrared precipitation with station
data (CHIRPS) to analyze the climate characteristics from 1981 to 2019 over Senegal,
Burkina Faso, Tanzania, and Malawi. Standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index
(SPEI) and standardized precipitation index (SPI) were used to classify the precipitation
and water balance anomalies with respect to the long-term observations. It was found that
Burkina Faso and Senegal have a similar climate signal with more rainfall in Burkina Faso.
Malawi recorded more rainfall than Tanzania. All the four countries recorded a high rainfall variability of extreme events. Standardized hydro climatic indices have shown that these
sub-Saharan countries have suffered severe droughts which have negatively affected the
socio-economic activities among the rural populations.
