Valerie H. SOUNOUKE, et. al. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications www.ijera.com ISSN: 2248-9622, Vol. 12, Issue 12, December 2022, pp. 01-09 www.ijera.com DOI: 10.9790/9622-12120109 1 | Page Spatio-temporal distribution of climate risks in the District of Borgou in North Benin: what the historical series show Valerie H. SOUNOUKE 1 , Ibouraïma YABI 2 , Ibrah S. SANDA 3 1 Department of climatology, National MeteorologicalAgency ofBenin METEO BENIN, Cotonou, Bénin 2 Department of Geography and Territory Development (DGAT), UNIVERSITY OF ABOMEY CALAVI, Calavi Bénin 3 Information and Research Department, AGRHYMETREGIONALCENTRE, Niamey, Niger Corresponding author: Valerie SOUNOUKE ABSTRACT In the current context of climate change, the definition of effective and efficient adaptation strategies requires a good knowledge of climate risks at the national or even local scale. This article proposes a spatio-temporal analysis of climate risks in the district of Borgou in northern Benin. Daily satellite observation data of rain (TAMSAT) and temperature reanalysis (ERA5) corrected for bias (quantile-mapping) over the period from 1981 to 2019, as well as in-situ observation data over the period from 1960 to 2019 were used. These data made it possible to estimate the trends of 03 agro-climatic indices and 03 indices of precipitation and extreme temperatures using the Sen slope, then to statistically evaluate these trends by the Mann-Kendall test or the of Mann-Kendall modified according to whether the series are stationary or not.The results revealed a significant trend towards a late start to the rainy season throughout the district, a significant trend towards the precocity of the end of the rainy season and an increase in the length of the maximum dry spell in the west of the district, with regard to the agro-climatic indices. As for the precipitation and extreme temperatures, it is observed a significant increase in temperatures of 0.8°C to 1.1°C with reference to the period 1981-2010. Hot nights (TN90p) and days (TX90p) have a significant upward trend throughout the district. Keywords: Climate risks, Spatio-temporal, Borgou, North-Benin. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 18-11-2022 Date of Acceptance: 02-12-2022 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. INTRODUCTION Africa remains one of the most vulnerable continents to climate variability and change because of the multiple stresses it experiences and its low capacity to respond and adapt (IPCC, 2007). Climate change could worsen existing problems and create new combinations of risks on the continent (Akinnagbe & Irohibe, 2014). For example, sub- Saharan Africa has experienced high rainfall variability at interannual and decadal scales (Nicholson & Palao, 1993; Moron, 1994). The region has also experienced increased drought due to increased temperature and reduced rainfall (Ozor & Nnaji, 2011). Benin, in the general context of sub-Saharan Africa, is faced with the challenge of inter-annual and intra-seasonal rainfall instability and their consequences (Boko et al.,2012 ; Afouda et al., 2014). The district of Borgou, one of the twelve in Benin, is subject to the adverse effects of climate change (PANA-BENIN, 2008) whose manifestations are reflected in the variability of climatic parameters and the recurrence of extreme meteorological events (PAS-NAP, 2019). In addition, several studies on farmers' perception and intra-seasonal variability in Benin reveal that agricultural production is subject to many climatic risks such as rising temperatures, the late start of the rainy season, long rainfall breaks, early end of seasons, etc. (Agossou et al., 2012 ; Adjakpa et al., 2017). However, few studies analyze the spatio- temporal variability of current climate risks to better guide decision-making. The overall objective is to identify current risks in the district of Borgou based on current climate data. Specifically, this will be: - To study the variability and trend of climatic and agroclimatic parameters - Assess current climate extremes. RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS