Trend Analysis of Hydro-meteorological Parameters and Influence of Climate Variability and Anthropogenic Activities in the Wadi Ouahrane Basin, Algeria

Nowadays, the Mediterranean region is generally recognized as a climate change hot spot given its strong response to global warming, with relevant impacts on several meteorological variables. Within this context, in this study some meteorological parameters (precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and sunshine) and runoff data have been analyzed in the Wadi Ouahrane basin (northern Algeria), which drains much of the agricultural land and is susceptible to floods. First, a trend analysis was performed using the Mann–Kendall test and the Theil–Sen estimator; then, the Pettitt test was used to detect possible break points in the time series over the period 1972/73–2017/2018. The trend analysis displays changes in hydro-meteorological data that may be used to manage water resources in the future. In particular, precipitation and sunshine did not show any actual trend; negative trends have been detected in the runoff and in the relative humidity values, while a positive trend has been identified in the mean and maximum temperature and in the wind speed values. Changes in the Wadi Ouahrane discharges are also attributable to climate change and anthropogenic activities in the basin.