Evolution des régimes hydrologiques en région équatoriale camerounaise: Un impact de la variabilité climatique en Afrique équatoriale?

Abstract

Analysis of the spatio-temporal variability of rainfall amounts, discharge and runoff coefficients, for monthly, seasonal and annual time steps in equatorial south Cameroon, reveals that annual values of rainfall and discharge have decreased during the years of greatest drought (1972-1973 and 1983-1984). The most significant climatic change is a modification of rainfall regime during the dry seasons, which led to a change in the annual hydrological cycle. The decrease in rainfall during the dry season in December-February generates a decrease in the runoff coefficients during the subsequent short rainy season (March-June). Conversely, although the corresponding rainfall has not changed much during the rainy season in September-November, the discharge has increased, probably due to the fact that rainfall during the short dry season (July and August) has been much higher for several decades. This is assumed to indicate a change in climate in southwest Cameroon, also evident in Gabon and Congo. Over the Kienke basin, the progressive disappearance of the short dry season in July-August has resulted in a tendency for the two rainy seasons to merge into one. Copyright © 2008 IAHS Press.