Changement climatiques observés sur le littoral sénégalais (Région de Dakar) depuis 1960: Etude de la variabilité des tendances sur les températures et la pluviométrie.

Climate change, one of the biggest current concerns of the planet, is characterized by an increase of the average temperature of the oceans and the atmosphere, the decrease of the rainfall in quantity and in duration, the accentuation of natural disasters ... The global increase of the temperature of the surface of the globe in the 20th century is of the order of 0.6 in 0.2 °C. All the elements of the climate, the temperatures and the precipitation play a fundamental role in the detection of climate change. This article analyzes the variability and the trends of climate of the city of Dakar, capital of the Republic of Senegal, during the period 1960-2013 from four climatic variables: minimal temperatures, maximal temperatures, average temperatures and totals rainfalls. The results of the analysis indicate a trend on the temperatures quasi-stable from 1960 to 1994. After 1994, year of break, the increase of the temperatures becomes very significant. This increase between 1995-2013 and 1960-1994 is on average 0.9 °C (that is an increase of 3.5 %), was not constant during all the period and is more important on the dry season (1 °C or an increase of 4.4 %) and on the minimal temperatures (1 °C or an increase of 4.9 %). For rainfall, no significant trend was observed, though a decline of 211 mm (or 36.2 %), from 1969, rainfall totals of about - 0.020 mm/year. These different results highlight the presence of climate change in the Dakar area, with multiple consequences for man and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]