Abstract
There exists an impressive amount of work for Sudan showing the anthropogenic degradation of natural vegetation cover. However, there are few examples of consequent climatic changes in literature. This work, thus, seeks to assess such effects of environmental forcing on various climatic patterns over the past few decades. Within the frame of the present analysis, the results are quite striking and are in concordance with scientific contentions that such land degradation could result in climatic modification. Higher temperature and less rainfall, sunshine duration and global radiation have been noticed. Evapotranspiration has responded more to the warming and drying conditions, thus showed signs of increasing rates, especially during the wet season. However, the extent of increase seems to have been suppressed by the decrease in sunshine duration and solar radiation as well as the inconsistent behaviour of wind speed. Changes in the variability of the within-year monthly observations have also occurred, thus suggesting an increase in the occurrence of extremes. The observed climatic modification in the country has exaggerated the insidious drought conditions. The present findings are hoped to contribute to our understanding of the effects of environmental problem and assist in considering policy responses.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abakumova G.M., Feigelson E.M., Russak V. and Stadnik V.V., 1996: Evaluation of long-term changes in radiation, cloudiness, and surface temperature on the territory of the Former Soviet Union. Journal of Climate 9: 1319–1327.
Abdelhadi A.W., Hata T., Tanakamaru H., Tada A. and Tariq M.A., 2000: Estimation of crop water requirements in arid regions using Penman-Monteith equation with derived crop coefficients: a case study on Acala cotton in Sudan Gezira irrigation scheme. Agricultural Water Management 45: 203–214.
Akhtar M. and Mensching H.G., 1993: Desertification in the Butana. GeoJournal 31(1): 41–50.
Akhtar M., Mensching H.G. and Domnick I., 1994: Methods applied for recording desertification and their results from the Sahel region of the Republic of Sudan. Desertification Bulletin 25: 40–47.
Allen R.G., Smith M., Pereira L.S. and Perrier A., 1994: An update for the calculation of reference evapotranspiration. ICID Bulletin 43(2): 35–92.
Allen R. G., Pereira L. S., Raes D. and Smith M., 1998: Crop evapotranspiration-guidelines for computing crop water requirements. FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56. 300 pp., Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.
Alvi S.H. and Elagib N.A., 1995: Impact of environmental changes on rainfall pattern and aridity in eastern-Sudan. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Rainwater Catchment Systems Association. pp. (3-83)–(3-97), 19–25 June 1995, Beijing, China, Sponsored by IRCSA-Japan/UNEP/Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Alvi S. H. and Elagib N. A., 1996: Study of hydrology and drought in the flood region of Sudan. Water International 21(2): 76–82.
Ayoub A.T., 1998: Extent, severity and causative factors of land degradation in the Sudan. Journal of Arid Environments 38: 397–409.
Ayoub A.T., 1999: Land degradation, rainfall variability and food production in the Sahelian zone of the Sudan. Land Degradation and Development 10: 489–500.
Babiker A.A.G., 1982: Urbanization and desertification in the Sudan with special reference to Khartoum. GeoJournal 6(1): 69–76.
Balling R.C. Jr., 1988: The climatic impact of a Sonoran vegetation discontinuity. Climatic Change 13: 99–109.
Balling R.C., Klopatek J.M., Hildebrandt M.L., Moritz C.K. and Watts C.J., 1998: Impacts of land degradation on historical temperature records from the Sonoran desert. Climatic Change 40: 669–681.
Bloomfiled P., 1992: Trends in global temperature. Climatic Change 21: 1–16.
Briggs D., Smithson P., Addison K. and Atkinson K., 1997: Fundamentals of physical environment. 557 pp., 2nd edition, Routledge, London/New York.
Burt T.P. and Shahgedanova M., 1998: An historical record of evaporation losses since 1815 calculated using long-term observations from the Radcliffe Meteorological Station, Oxford, England. Journal of Hydrology 205: 101–111.
Chahine M.T., 1992: The hydrological cycle and its influence on climate. Nature 359: 373–380.
Conway D. and Hulme M., 1993: Recent fluctuations in precipitation and runoff over the Nile sub-basins and their impact on Main Nile discharge. Climatic Change 25: 127–151.
Elagib N.A. and Alvi S.H., 1996: Study of hydrology and drought in central Sudan. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference in Civil Engineering on Computer Applications, Research and Practice (ICCE-96), pp. 653–659, Volume 2, 6–8 April 1996, Organized by University of Bahrain and Supported by UNESCO/British Council/American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)/American Concrete Institute (ACI).
Elagib N.A. and Abdu A.S.A., 1997: Climate variability and aridity in Bahrain. Journal of Arid Environments 36: 405–419.
Elagib N.A., Alvi S.H. and Mansell M.G., 1999a: Day-length and extraterrestrial radiation for Sudan: a comparative study. International Journal of Solar Energy 20(2): 93–109.
Elagib N.A., Alvi S.H. and Mansell M.G., 1999b: Correlationships between clearness index and relative sunshine duration for Sudan. Renewable Energy 17(4): 473–498.
Elagib N.A. and Mansell, M.G., 2000a: Recent trends and anomalies in mean seasonal and annual temperatures over Sudan. Journal of Arid Environments 45(3): 263–288.
Elagib N.A. and Mansell M.G., 2000b: New approaches for estimating global solar radiation across Sudan. Energy Conversion and Management 41(5): 419–434.
Eldredge E., Khalil S.E., Nicholds N., Abdalla A.A. and Rydjeski D., 1988: Changing rainfall patterns in western Sudan. Journal of Climatology 8: 45–53.
Elsayem F.E., 1986: The effect of deforestation in the Equatorial Africa on rainfall in central Sudan. Proceedings of International Conference on Water Resources Needs and Planning in Drought Prone Areas, pp. 155–171, Volume 2, December 1986, Khartoum.
Eltahir E.A.B., 1988: Tests for the suspected trend in annual rainfall series. The Sudan Engineering Society Journal 30: 37–50.
Eltahir E.A.B., 1989: A feedback mechanism in annual rainfall, central Sudan. Journal of Hydrology 110: 323–334
Eltahir E.A.B and Bras R.L., 1993: On the response of the tropical atmosphere to large-scale deforestation. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 119: 779–793.
Eltahir E.A.B and Bras R.L., 1994: Sensitivity of regional climate to deforestation in the Amazon basin. Advances in Water Resources 17: 101–115.
Eltahir E.A.B., 1996: Role of vegetation in sustaining large-scale atmospheric circulation in the tropics. Journal of Geophysical Research 101(D2): 4255–4268.
Folland C.K., Karl T.R. and Vinnikov K.Y.A., 1990: Observed climate variation and change. In: Houghton J.T., Jenkins G.J. and Ephraums J.J. (eds), Climate change: the IPCC Scientific Assessment, pp. 195–238, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Franchito S.H. and Rao V.B., 1992: Climatic change due to land surface alteration. Climatic Change 22: 1–34.
Frederick K.D. and Major D.C., 1997: Climate change and water resources. Climatic Change 37: 7–23.
Gates W.L., Mitchell J.F.B., Boer G.J., Cubasch U. and Meleshko V.P., 1992: Climate modelling, climate prediction and model validation. In: Houghton J.T., Callander B.J. and Varney S.K. (eds), Climate change 1992: the supplementary report to the IPCC scientific assessment, pp. 97–134, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Gleick P.H., 1989: Climate change, hydrology, and water resources. Reviews of Geophysics 27: 329–344.
Goudie A.S. and Middleton N.J., 1992: The changing frequency of dust storms through time. Climatic Change 20: 197–225. 3
Hamad O.E, Ahmed A.A.S and El Daw A.K., 1986: Impact of drought on the Gezira Scheme irrigation needs. Proceedings of International Conference on Water Resources Needs and Planning in Drought Prone Areas, pp. 921–932, Volume 2, December 1986
Khartoum. Hare F.K., 1977: Climate and desertification. In: The Secretariat of the United Nations Conference on Desertification (ed.), Desertification: Its Causes and Consequences, pp. 63–167. Pergamon Press, Oxford/New York/Toronto/Sydney/Paris/Frankfort.
Hess T.M., 1998: Trends in reference evapo-transpiration in the north east arid zone of Nigeria, 1961–91. Journal of Arid Environments 38: 99–115.
Hoffman W.A. and Jackson R.B., 2000: Vegetation-climate feedbacks in the conversion of tropical Savanna to grassland. Journal of Climate 13: 1593–1602.
Hulme M., 1984: 1983: An exceptionally dry year in central Sudan. Weather 39(9): 281–285.
Hulme M., 1986: The adaptability of a rural water supply system to extreme rainfall anomalies in central Sudan. Applied Geography 6: 89–105.
Hulme M., 1987: Secular changes in wet season structure in central Sudan. Journal of Arid Environments 13, 31–46.
Hulme, M., 1989: Is environmental degradation causing drought in the Sahel? An assessment from recent empirical research. Geography 74: 38–46. 3
Hulme M. and Trilsbach A., 1989: The August storm over Khartoum: its climatology and impact. Weather 15: 21–34.
Hulme M., 1990: The changing rainfall resources of Sudan. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 15: 21–34.
Hulme M., Barrow E.M., Arnell N.W., Harrison P.A., John T.C. and Downing T.E., 1999: Relative impacts of human-induced climate change and natural variability. Nature 397: 688–691.
Ibrahim, F., 1978: Anthropogenic causes of desertification in western Sudan. GeoJournal 2(3): 243–254.
Jones P.H. and Briffa K.R., 1992: Global surface air temperature variations during the twentieth century: Part 1, Spatial, temporal and seasonal details. Holocene 2(2): 165–179.
Jones P.D. and Hulme M., 1996: Calculating regional climatic time series for temperature and precipitation: methods and illustrations. International Journal of Climatology 16: 361–377.
Karl T.R., Knight R.W. and Plummer N., 1995: Trends in high-frequency climate variability in the twentieth century. Nature 377: 217–220.
Karl T.R. and Knight R.W., 1998: Secular trends of precipitation amount, frequency, and intensity in the United States. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 79(2): 231–241.
Kite G., 1993: Analysing hydrometeorological time series for evidence of climate change. Nordic Hydrology 24:136–150.
Klink K., 1999: Trends in mean monthly maximum and minimum surface wind speeds in the conterminous United States, 1961 to 1990. Climate Research 13:193–205.
Larsson H., 1996: Relationships between rainfall and sorghum, millet and sesame in the Kassala Province, eastern Sudan. Journal of Arid Environments 3: 211–223.
Le Houérou, H.N., 1996: Climate change, drought and desertification. Journal of Arid Environments 34: 133–185.
Li S.G., Harazono Y., Oikawa T., Zhao H.L., He Z.Y. and Chang X.L., 2000: Grassland desertification by grazing and the resulting micrometeorological changes in Inner Mongolia. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 102: 125–137.
Lockwood J.G., 1999: Is potential evapotranspiration and its relationship with actual evapotranspiration sensitive to elevated atmospheric CO2 levels? Climatic Change 41: 193–212.
Mason S.J., Waylen P.R., Mimmack G.M., Rajaratnam B. and Harrison M., 1999: Changes in extreme rainfall events in South Africa. Climatic Change 41: 249–257.
McTainsh G.H., Burgess R. and Pitblado J.R., 1989: Aridity, drought and dust storms in Australia (1960-84). Journal of Arid Environments 16: 11–22.
Michaels P.J., Balling R.C. Jr., Vose R.S. and Knappenberger P.C., 1998: Analysis of trends in the variability of daily and monthly historical temperature measurements. Climate Research 10: 27–33.
Middleton N.J., 1985: Effect of drought on dust production in the Sahel. Nature 316: 431–434.
Nicholson S., 1999: Land surface processes and Sahel climate. Reviews of Geophysics 38(1): 117–139.
Nicholson S.E., Some B., and Kone B., 2000: An analysis of recent rainfall conditions inWest Africa, including the rainy season of the 1997 El Nino and the 1998 La Nina years. Journal of Climate 13(14): 2628–2640.
Ogallo L.A., Boulahya M.S. and Keane T., 2000: Applications of seasonal to interannual climate prediction in agricultural planning and operations. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 103: 159–166.
Oliver J., 1965: Evaporation losses and rainfall regime in central and northern Sudan. Weather 20: 58–64.
Oliver J., 1969: Problems of determining evapotranspiration in the semiarid tropics illustrated with reference to the Sudan. Journal of Tropical Geography 28: 64–74.
Panafrican News Agency, 2000: http://www.allafrica.com/stories/ 200010030298.html.
Parry M., 1990: Climate variation and world agriculture, 157 pp., Earthscan Publication Ltd., London.
Perry A.H., 1986: Precipitation and climatic change in central Sudan. In: Davies H.R.J. (ed.), Rural development in the White Nile Province, Sudan: a study of interaction between man and natural resources, pp. 33–42, The United Nations University, Tokyo.
Prince S.D., De Colston E.B. and Kravitz L.L., 1998: Evidence from rain-use efficiencies does not indicate extensive Sahelian desertification. Global Change Biology 4: 359–374.
Qureshi S. and Khan N., 1994: Estimation of climatic transition in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) in global warming perspectives. GeoJournal 33(4): 423–432.
Ramírez J.A. and Finnerty B., 1998: CO2 and temperature effects on evapotranspiration and irrigated agriculture. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, ASCE 122(3): 155–163.
Rosenberg N.J., McKenney M.S. and Martin P., 1989: Evapotranspiration in a greenhouse-warmed world: a review and a simulation. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 47: 303–320.
Rotter G., Ellsaesser H.W., MacCracken M.C. and Luther, F.M., 1975: Possible climatic impact of tropical deforestation. Nature 258: 697–698.
Rötter R. and Van De Geijn S.C., 1999: Climate change effects on plant growth, crop yield and Livestock. Climatic Change 43: 651–681.
Salih A.M.A. and Al-Sha'lan S.A., 1986: Use of Class A pan for estimating consumptive use under extremely arid conditions. Proceedings of International Conference on Water Resources Needs and Planning in Drought Prone Areas, pp. 791–802, Volume 2, December 1986, Khartoum.
Salinger M.J., Stigter C.J. and Das H.P., 2000: Agrometeorological adaptation strategies to increasing climate variability and climate change. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 103: 167–184.
Schlesinger W.M. and Gramenopoulos N., 1996: Archival photographs show no climate-induced changes in woody vegetation in the Sudan. Global Change Biology 2: 137–141.
Shukla J. and Mintz Y., 1982: Influence of land-surface evapotranspiration on the earth's climate. Science 215(19): 1498–1501.
Shukla J., Nobre C. and Sellers P., 1990: Amazon deforestation and climate change. Science 247: 1322–1325.
Sutcliffe J.V., Dugdale G. and Milford J.R., 1989: The Sudan floods of 1988. Hydrological Sciences Journal 34(3): 355–364.
Tinker J., 1977: Sudan challenges the sand-dragon. New Scientist 73: 448-450.
Trilsbach A. and Hulme M., 1984: Recent rainfall changes in central Sudan and their physical and human implications. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 15: 280–298.
UNEP, 1992: World atlas of desertification. Edward Arnold, London/New York/Melbourne/Auckland. 69 plates. 327
Walsh R.P.D., Hulme M. and Campbell M.D., 1988: Recent rainfall changes and their impact on hydrology and water supply in the semi-arid zone of the Sudan. The Geographical Journal 154(2): 181–198.
Walsh R.P.D., Davies H.R.J. and Musa S.B., 1994: Flood frequency and impacts at Khartoum since the early nineteenth century. The Geographical Journal 160(3): 266–279.
Wang G. and Eltahir E.A.B., 2000: Ecosystem dynamics and the Sahel drought. Geophysical Research Letters 27(6): 795–798.
Wigley T.M.L., 1988: The effect of climate change on the frequency of absolute extreme events. Climate Monitor 17(2): 44–55.
Wigley T.M.L., 1999: The science of climate change: global and U.S. perspectives. Pew Center on Global Climate Change, Arlington, Virginia, 48 pp.
Woodward W.A. and Gray H.L., 1993: Global warming and the problem of testing for trend time series data. Journal of Climate 6: 953–962.
Yu B., Hess P.P. and Neil D.T., 1993: The relationship between antecedent regional rainfall conditions and the occurrence of dust events atMildura, Australia. Journal of Arid Environments 24: 109–124.
Zaninović K. and Gajić-Čapka M., 2000: Changes in components of the water balance in the Croatian lowlands. Theoretical and Applied Climatology 65: 111–117.
Zheng X. and Eltahir E.A.B., 1997: The response of deforestation and desertification in a model ofWest African monsoon. Geophysical Research Letters 24(2): 155–158.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Elagib, N.A., Mansell, M.G. Climate impacts of environmental degradation in Sudan. GeoJournal 50, 311–327 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011071917001
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011071917001