Badawy (2025) Assessment of Vapour Pressure Deficit Trends and Their Connections to Climate Variability in the Nile Delta

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: International Journal of Climatology
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-10-08
• Authors: Hesham Badawy
• DOI: 10.1002/joc.70145

Research Groups

Not available in the abstract.

Short Summary

This study analyzed three decades (1990–2020) of vapour pressure deficit (VPD) variability in Egypt's Nile Delta, revealing a statistically significant increase in atmospheric aridity driven primarily by rising air temperatures and decreasing relative humidity, with implications for agricultural resilience and water management.

Objective

• To analyze the long-term dynamics and variability of vapour pressure deficit (VPD) in Egypt's Nile Delta over three decades (1990–2020).

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Egypt's Nile Delta, a transitional area influenced by Mediterranean humidity and Saharan aridity, with specific observations of southern, eastern, and coastal regions.
• Temporal Scale: Three decades (1990–2020).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: MERRA-2, GLDAS, and ERA5 reanalysis datasets.
• Data sources: Reanalysis datasets (MERRA-2, GLDAS, ERA5) validated against data from 16 ground stations (r > 0.95; Willmott's d > 0.94). Trend analyses utilized the Modified Mann–Kendall test, and partial correlation analyses were performed.

Main Results

• A statistically significant increase in atmospheric aridity (VPD) was observed across the Nile Delta, with a trend of +0.08 to +0.09 kPa per decade (p < 0.01).
• The most substantial increases in VPD occurred during summer, reaching +0.114 kPa per decade.
• Spatial heterogeneity was evident, with consistently high VPD in the southern and eastern regions of the Delta, while coastal areas experienced some moderation due to maritime influence.
• Increasing air temperatures and decreasing relative humidity were identified as the principal factors driving these VPD changes, further exacerbated by soil moisture depletion.

Contributions

• Provides a comprehensive long-term analysis of VPD dynamics in an intensively irrigated deltaic agroecosystem, the Nile Delta, which serves as a representative case study.
• Highlights the critical importance of explicitly integrating VPD into climate diagnostics, irrigation management, and adaptation planning for such vulnerable regions.
• Offers a regional warning and a globally pertinent case study on how a warming climate intensifies atmospheric water demand and alters agricultural resilience in intensively irrigated deltaic regions.

Funding

Not available in the abstract.

Citation

@article{Badawy2025Assessment,
  author = {Badawy, Hesham},
  title = {Assessment of Vapour Pressure Deficit Trends and Their Connections to Climate Variability in the Nile Delta},
  journal = {International Journal of Climatology},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1002/joc.70145},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.70145}
}