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Meteorological causes of the catastrophic rains of October/November 2019 in equatorial Africa

Nicholson, Sharon E.; Fink, Andreas H. 1; Funk, Chris; Klotter, Douglas A.; Satheesh, Athul Rasheeda 1
1 Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

Abstract:

The rains of October and November 2019 brought disaster to much of equatorial Africa. In East Africa tremendous rains triggered flooding and landslides in Kenya, causing over 100 deaths and the displacement of some 18,000 people. The situation was exacerbated by an unprecedented locust plague made possible by the intense rains. Floods in the Democratic Republic of the Congo displaced some 40,000 people. The level of the Mono River jumped a meter in four days, producing floods that affected some 50,000 residents of Benin and Togo.
This article places the October and November 2019 rainfall extremes in historic context and analyzes the juxtaposition of forcings required to explain these unprecedented hydro-climatic extremes in equatorial Africa. The meteorological factors considered include the Dipole Mode Index, zonal winds over the central Indian Ocean, the Walker circulation, moisture flux and divergence, ENSO and tropical sea-surface temperatures in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and zonal circulation.
The Dipole Mode Index reached record levels and anomalously high values persisted for five months. This was clearly a major factor in eastern Africa. ... mehr


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Originalveröffentlichung
DOI: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2021.103687
Scopus
Zitationen: 12
Web of Science
Zitationen: 12
Dimensions
Zitationen: 16
Zugehörige Institution(en) am KIT Institut für Meteorologie und Klimaforschung Troposphärenforschung (IMKTRO)
Publikationstyp Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Publikationsmonat/-jahr 01.2022
Sprache Englisch
Identifikator ISSN: 0921-8181
KITopen-ID: 1000139647
HGF-Programm 12.11.34 (POF IV, LK 01) Improved predictions from weather to climate scales
Erschienen in Global and planetary change
Verlag Elsevier
Band 208
Seiten Art.Nr. 103687
Vorab online veröffentlicht am 30.10.2021
Schlagwörter Climate extremes, Equatorial Africa, Eastern Africa, Global climate change
Nachgewiesen in Web of Science
Dimensions
Scopus
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