Seasonal Differences in Rainfall Distribution Within the Bawku Area in the Savanna Belt of Ghana

Empirical evidence suggests that temperatures are continuously rising in the savannah areas of Ghana and
impacting negatively on residents’ livelihood activities. However, there is paucity of information on the wet
and dry seasons’ rate of wetness or dryness in the driest belt of Ghana. Meanwhile, residents of the area are
mainly rained agriculturalists. We employed gauge station rainfall and temperature data from Ghana
Meteorological Agency to assess the seasonal rainfall characteristics of the Bawku area using XLSTAT and
DrinC software. Results from the rainfall anomalies show persistent dryness (-0.017) in the area during the
dry season and continuous wetness in the wet season (0.021). Evapotranspiration was consistently higher in
the dry season at a rate of 2.6% (0.26) yearly as well as a high rate of aridity [AI] (0.00≤AI≤0.09) in the dry
season and low aridity (0.56 ≤AI ≤1.13) during the wet season. Following the reduction in the amount of
rainfall, we can conclude that Bawku area is continuously drying amidst the changing climate. It is
recommended that the ministry of agriculture should prioritise the construction of mechanised dams or wells
and expand irrigation projects in the area to reduce the climate change effects on the livelihood of the
residents especially in the dry season.