Science et changements planétaires / Sécheresse
MENUWetter but hotter conditions in Mauritania? Volume 24, issue 2, Avril-Mai-Juin 2013
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Université de Rouen
UMR CNRS 6228 IDEES
Rue Lavoisier
76821 Mont-Saint-Aignan cedex
France, Université de Rouen
UMR CNRS 6143 M2C
Place Émile-Blondel
76821 Mont-Saint-Aignan cedex
France
- Key words: climate change, rainfall trend, Sahel, temperature trend
- DOI : 10.1684/sec.2013.0385
- Page(s) : 85-95
- Published in: 2013
Significant climatic change is affecting a large part of our planet. Different models forecast likely increases in precipitation and temperature in many parts of the world. The present research analyzes the general trends of rainfall, temperature and sandstorms over a half a century of observations in Mauritania. This study shows that, after the great drought of the seventies and eighties, a significant increase of wet and normal years have been observed in the last decade. At the same time, the minimum temperatures recorded in this part of the Sahel have increased steadily since the seventies. Finally, wind speed and lithometeor observations show sharp declines after recording the highest values during dry periods.