Evaluating the impact of solar radiation modification on water resources in Central Africa

Earth from space. Credit: NASA

A new study examines how solar radiation modification (SRM) methods, which enhance the reflection of sunlight back into space, could affect water availability in four major river basins in Central Africa: Niger Basin, Lake Chad Basin, Cameroon Atlantic Basin, and Congo Basin. Countries in Central Africa that rely heavily on rain-fed agriculture and hydropower are vulnerable to global warming-exacerbated drought. The study, published in Environmental Research Letters, indicates that in a high emissions scenario where water availability could decrease up to 60 percent, SRM techniques could increase water availability up to 50 percent. These results suggest that SRM techniques may mitigate the worsening of drought from global warming in Central Africa.