CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND EXTREME EVENTS ANALYSIS IN THE ZAMBEZI RIVER BASIN USING STANDARDIZED PRECIPITATION EVAPOTRANSPIRATION INDEX AND L-MOMENTS

The Zambezi River is an important water resource with its catchment area covering most parts of Southern Africa (Figure 1). It is a habitat to a wide range of plant and animal species. Humanity in this region just like other animals depends on water from the Zambezi River and its tributaries. Its dependence ranges from provision of potable water, agriculture, power, manufacturing, mining, tourism and many other sectors (World Bank 2010). With such benefits from the river, the human population is proved to be rapidly increasing. For example, an annual increase of 3.9% in Africa (the highest in the world) has been recorded with most of the increase in the Southern part of the continent, which is mostly covered by this basin (World Bank, 2010). Despite the population boom, industrialization and urbanization, not all Africans have access to clean water and sanitation. Water availability varies from country to country as some parts of Southern Africa receive very low mean annual rainfall (Namib and Kalahari deserts) and low river flows with others receiving very high precipitation (areas in the sub tropics) hence high river flows. With this in mind, more water is needed to meet the increasing demands for clean water, sanitation, irrigation, and power (Hydroelectric).

 

 

KEYWORDS: CLIMATE, ACEWATER2, UB.BW