Dynamics of the Inter-Tropical Front and rainy season onset in Benin. CJAST, 24(2): 1-15, 2017

Abstract

Abstract: One of the recurring problems of the farmers in Benin is the uncontrolled of the starting date of the rainy seasons which is of a great importance for the productivity. The aim of this study is the elaboration of a criterion allowing to determine with more precision the starting date of the rainy season, then to study the position of the intertropical front compared to this rainy date in the five stations Synoptics of Benin distributed from South to North. The new starting criterion has been elaborated from other criteria of the literature. Data used in this study are those of daily rainfall collected at ASECNA (Agency for the Safety of Air Navigation in Africa and Madagascar) over the period 1987-2016, and those of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Intertropcal Front (ITF) over the period 1989-2016. This work allowed to determine the correlation between the position of the Intertropical Front and the precipitation at the monthly and decadal scales for the different stations, and to estabilish their rainfall regimes during the last thirty years.