Water and Environmental Change in Africa: A Case Study of the Senegal River Basin

Before I delve into hydrological modelling of the SRB in the next post, I will first introduce the basics of hydrological modelling and climate change scenarios in this short blog post. Hydrological Modelling Hydrological models simulate and represent real-world hydrological processes: water flows and changes in water stores within the natural water cycle, such as surface runoff, infiltration, groundwater flow and discharge, through the use of mathematical equations ( Ogden, 2021 ). They are widely employed for water resource management, and they are often used to predict future water trends under climate change. Flows and stores within the water cycle that are represented in hydrological models ( USGS, 2019 ). Climate models and emission pathways An essential part of all hydrological models are meteorological data, such as temperature, precipitation and solar radiation, which are used as input for the models ( Garen, 2013 ). In order to predict future alterations in hydrological proce...

Water is a fundamental part of our everyday lives. Domestically, we use water for drinking, cooking and hygiene, and having enough water is crucial in ensuring good health and well-being ( Howard et al. , 2020 ). At the same time, water is an essential element of food production and industrial activities. Unfortunately, around two billion people across the globe are currently living under water scarcity ( Stringer et al. , 2021 ), which refers to an insufficient freshwater supply to meet the demand, as well as low accessibility to safe and affordable water ( Tzanakakis et al. , 2020 ,  Rijsberman, 2005 ). Water scarcity is prominent in many African countries; over two thirds of the African population is experiencing water scarcity ( Falkenmark, 1989 ). This is partly due to arid climate in some regions (physical water scarcity), but more so because of large populations and poor water infrastructure (economic water scarcity) ( African Climate Policy Centre, 2013 ;  Damkjaer and...