Abstract:
Examination of trend patterns of rainfall
and temperature extremes over East Africa
(EA) was based on graphical, regression and
Mann-Kendall test approaches, while perturba-tions of rainfall, sunspot activity (SA) and
southern oscillation index (SOI) extremes
were computed using moving average meth-ods. Annual total rainfall generally decreased
with heavy and extreme precipitation rates
confined within short spells during wet days.
Observed maximum temperature extremes
increased while minimum temperature
extremes decreased with a statistically signifi-cant rise in the number of hot days and warm
nights and a decrease in number of cool days
and cold nights. However, space-time pattern
of observed changes were not well organized.
Perturbations of rainfall, SA and SOI indicated
that extreme values were changing with
increasing frequency and magnitude.
Similarities in observed rainfall over EA illus-trated the existence of homogeneous zones of
climate change clustered as either coastal
(with SA dominant), lake Victoria (unique to
both SA and SOI), dry continental (SOI) or wet
continental areas (both SA and SOI dominant).
