ENIVRONMENT ASIA

Volume 15, No. 03, Month SEPTEMBER, Year 2022, Pages 14 - 24

Variation and change of hydro-climatological parameters in iraq for the period 1980-2019

Husam T. Majeed, Dalia A. Mahmood, Zahraa S. Mahdi

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Extensive analysis of hydro-climatological parameters is essential for the management and strategies of water resources particularly in arid and semi-arid regions like Iraq. The aim of this work is to analyze and study the change and variations of the hydro-climatological parameters in Iraq during the past 40 years (1981-2020). Monthly means of hydro-meteorological variables were obtained from Fifth generation ECMWF atmospheric reanalysis of the global climate (ERA5). The data obtained included total precipitation (P), evaporation; including transpiration from vegetation (E), runoff; includes both surface and sub-surface (R), and potential evaporation (PE) for the period 1980-2019. Results showed considerable variations in the hydro-climatological parameters both in spatial and temporal scales. P and E were the maximum in the north and north eastern mountain areas and minimum in the western desert area. R only existed in the mountain areas. P in Iraq falls only during rainy season (October-May) and peaks during winter (December-February) while E and R occur during all month of the year and the peak amounts happen in May (for evaporation) and in April (for R) in the mountain area where melting snow is the major source of water.ETc...

Keywords

Precipitation; Evaporation; Potential evaporation; Water storage; Aridity Index; Iraq

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