Storylines of Sahel precipitation change: roles of the North Atlantic and Euro-Mediterranean temperature

• Main Authors: Monerie, Paul-Arthur, Biasutti, Michela, Mignot, Juliette, Mohino, Elsa, Pohl, Benjamin, Zappa, Giuseppe
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Authorea, Inc. 2023
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.22541/essoar.167751634.43179206/v1

Future changes in Sahel precipitation are uncertain because of large differences among projections from various models. In order to explore this uncertainty, we use a storyline approach which seeks to identify alternative plausible evolutions of Sahel precipitation and their driving factors. By analysing projections from the CMIP6 climate models, we show that changes in North Atlantic and in Euro-Mediterranean temperatures explain up to 50% of the central Sahel precipitation change uncertainty. We then construct several storylines of Sahel precipitation change based on future plausible changes in North Atlantic and Euro-Mediterranean temperatures. In one storyline, an amplified warming of both the North Atlantic and the Euro-Mediterranean areas promotes a northward shift of the West African monsoon, increasing precipitation over the central Sahel, while, in another storyline, a moderate warming in both regions is associated with a small change in precipitation over the central Sahel and a decrease in precipitation over the western Sahel, at the end of the 21st century. These results indicate that reducing uncertainty in future changes in Sahel precipitation could be achieved by reducing uncertainty in the future warming of the North Atlantic and the Euro-Mediterranean areas.