Dew Point Characteristics at Synoptic Stations in Northern Benin

Abstract

The dew point temperature is a very important parameter for hydro and agro-climatological research. This work studied the temporal variability of dew point temperature in Northern Benin. The dew point data comes from three synoptic stations in Northern Benin and covers the period from January 1980 to February 2019. After, correction and homogenization of the data, statistical methods are employed to analyze its structure, distribution, and temporal variability. The average of the dataset is 16.607°C with a standard deviation of 6.871 and a coefficient of variation of 0.414. The distribution is negatively skewed without extreme values, with an interquartile range of 10.284. The analysis by days of month indicates an irregular change in values at the beginning of month. The days of week show a minimum at the beginning and a maximum at the end of week. The analysis of dew point temperature data by months of the year shows a bell-shaped distribution with a plateau covering the months from May to September. The average dew point temperature has been increasing over the years. The data also describe a non-stationary periodic series approved by statistical tests. The absence of an inflection point in the data and in the trend means that the distribution is evolving and cyclical but not regular.