Generation of climate change scenarios for rainfall and temperature using SDSM in a Mediterranean environment: a case study of Boufakrane river watershed, Morocco

Climate change is the global phenomenon of climate transformation characterized by changes in the planet’s habitual climate. The main objective of this work is to assess and predict climate change for the 2015–2100 period, in the Boufakrane river watershed, Morocco. In this study, the Statistical DownScaling Model (SDSM) method has been used to generate the climate scenarios for rainfall and temperature related to Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios such as RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, and RCP 8.5. For this purpose, the region’s annual, monthly, and daily rainfall records were analyzed. A rainfall index was calculated to differentiate and distinguish between dry and humid years of the climate series, and a non-parametric Pettitt’s test has been applied to determine the trend of precipitation series for the projection period. The application of Pettitt’s test with a confidence interval of 99% and a significance level of 0.05 shows a break in the 1979/80 rainfall series, with an average of 675.78 mm and 511.94 mm respectively before and after the break. The combined application of the two approaches of SDSM, and the non-parametric Pettitt test for the period 2015–2100, showed a downward trend of annual rainfall with 17.29% for RCP 2.6. While no trend was recorded for the two scenarios RCP 4.5, and RCP 8.5. Therefore, this study highlighted the importance and urgent need for developing strategies and decision-making plans for climate change adaptation for sustainable water resources management. Graphical Abstract