Abstract:
This Summary for Policy makers follows the structure of Working Group I
Report. Working Group I is established by the Ethiopian Panel on Climate
Change under the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences to compile and assess the
physical science aspect of climate change unique to Ethiopia in a consistent
manner with the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC). As the Summary for Policy makers is based mainly on
Working Group I report, it shares the merit and limitations of that Report,
which are highlighted in the preface of the Report.
The narrative in this Summary for Policy makers is supported by number of
conclusions, of which the ones highlighted by yellow background color are
particularly uniquely valid for Ethiopia. These conclusions, taken together,
provide a concise Summary on the state of current and future climate over
Ethiopia. The basis for substantive paragraphs in this Summary for Policy
makers can be found in the chapter sections of the underlying Report. The
references are given in curly brackets.
B. Observed changes in the climate system
Observations of the climate system are based on direct measurements and
remote sensing from satellites and other platforms globally. On a local scale,
a number of case studies, based on a large number of short and long-term
in-situ observations and modeling provide information on changes in the
climate system and its impact at the local scale. Paleoclimate reconstructions,
such as tree ring, and isotope fractionation extend some records back
hundreds to millions of years both at the local and global scale. Together,
these observations avail a sufficient and detailed view of the variability and
trends in the atmosphere, the ocean, the cryosphere, and the land surface.
Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and many of the observed
changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and
ocean have warmed, sea level has risen, and some water bodies, such as
lakes, have dried up, the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased.
