Local climate change projections and impact on the surface hydrology in the Vea catchment, West Africa

Abstract Water security has been a major challenge in the semi-arid area of West Africa including Northern Ghana, where climate change is projected to increase if appropriate measures are not taken. This study assessed rainfall and temperature projections its impact on water resources Vea catchment using an ensemble mean four bias-corrected Regional Climate Models Statistical Downscaling Model-Decision Centric (SDSM-DC) simulations. The simulations was used as input already calibrated validated Soil Assessment Tool (SWAT) model, assess actual evapotranspiration (ET), surface runoff yield, relative baseline (1990–2017) period. results showed that annual ET would by 1.3 °C 8.3%, respectively, for period 2020–2049 under medium CO2 emission (RCP4.5) scenario, indicating trend towards drier climate. yield decrease 42.7 38.7%, respectively. requires better planning management catchment.