Trend and Variability in Interannual Air Temperature Over South West Mau Forest, 1985 - 2015
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Date
2020
Authors
kigomo, Mathew Kiura
Mburu, David Mwehia
Kinyanjui, James Mwangi
Thuo, Aggrey Daniel Maina
Mundia, Charles Ndegwa
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Knowledge Sharing Platform
Abstract
Globally high altitude forest regions are considered to be more prone to rapid warming. These regions have also
shown great seasonal and inter annual temperatures variability. In Kenya mean annual temperatures increased by
1.00C since 1960. Going by global trends it is plausible to argue that high altitude forest areas in Kenya might have
shown great seasonal and inter annual temperatures variability over time. This study assessed interannual trend
and variability as well as change point detection in average annual air temperature in South West Mau Forest,
Kenya between 1985 and 2015. South West Mau Forest is an indigenous montane ecosystem with a tropical
montane climate. Annual average air temperature over the South West Mau forest pointed towards climate
warming of 0.01880C per year (Kendall’s tau = 0.3677, p value = 0.0033) but with low interannual variability
(CV= 0.11%). A shift in the annual average air temperature of 0.3680C at p= 0.0051 was detected between 1985-
1998 and 1999- 2015. There was a weak positive anomaly in the annual average air temperature with a slope of
0.0192 and R2 = 0.3074. Overall the region experienced climate warming.
Description
A research article published in Journal of Natural Sciences Research
Keywords
Climate warming, Trend, Variability, Average temperature
Citation
Thuo, A. D. M., & Mundia, C. N. (2020). Trend and Variability in Interannual Air Temperature Over South West Mau Forest, 1985-2015.