Heat wave monitoring over West African cities: uncertainties, characterization and recent trends

Cédric Gacial Ngoungué Langué (1, 2) , Christophe Lavaysse (3, 2) , Mathieu Vrac (4) , Cyrille Flamant (1)

1 TROPO - LATMOS
2 IGE - Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement
3 JRC - European Commission - Joint Research Centre [Ispra]
4 LSCE - Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement [Gif-sur-Yvette]

Heat waves can be one of the most dangerous climatic hazards affecting the planet; having dramatic impacts on the health of humans and natural ecosystems as well as on anthropogenic activities, infrastructures and economy. Based on climatic conditions in West Africa, the urban centers of the region appear to be vulnerable to heat waves. In this study, we assess the potential uncertainties encountered in the process of heat waves monitoring and analyse their recent trend in West Africa cities. This is investigated using two state-of-the-art reanalysis products namely ERA5 and MERRA for the period 1993-2020. Three types of uncertainties are discussed.

Mots clés: heat waves; reanalysis data; climate change; climatic regions; West Africa

Domaines: Physique Atmosphérique et Océanique [physics.ao-ph]

Cédric Gacial Ngoungué Langué, Christophe Lavaysse, Mathieu Vrac, Cyrille Flamant. Heat wave monitoring over West African cities: uncertainties, characterization and recent trends. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 2023, 23 (4), pp.1313-1333. ⟨10.5194/nhess-23-1313-2023⟩. ⟨insu-03741165v2⟩