The impacts of climate change on hydrological processes of Gilgel Gibe catchment, southwest Ethiopia

income is agriculture. Additionally, a rise in temperature increased PET, which in turn raised the requirement for irrigation. Similar findings were supported by research on climate change in Africa, namely the sub- Sahara, which showed a range of warming trends in the inland subtropics, a recurrence of high hot events, an increase in aridity, and changes in rainfall [66]. The effects of climate change, according to [66], have a considerable impact on the region’s undernourishment, infectious diseases, vulnerability to rain-fed agriculture, and flash flooding catastrophes. The results also support the findings of [57], which indicated that the Nile river is predicted to decline between the years of 2040 and 2070 and again between 2070 and 2099 as a result of decreased precipitation and higher evaporation rate. In their study on the effects of climate change on the Tekeze river basin’s water sources, [67] also predicted that surface runoff would decrease by 13% and 14%. The decline of the expected surface runoff under both RCPs due to climate change was also confirmed in the study by [62] using the ensemble of five GCMs. 4. Conclusion and management options This study undertook an analysis of the effects of climate change on the hydrological processes within the Gilgel Gibe catchment. Specifically, the study evaluated the impact of potential Fig 15. Spatial patterns of the changes in surface runoff due to climate change. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287314.g015 PLOS ONE The impacts of climate change on hydrological processes of gilgel gibe catchment

PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287314 June 28, 2023 22 / 28