Since the 1990s, temperatures have risen and precipitation has decreased gradually, with a steeper trend over the past few years. Given the significance of rainfall to the nation's agricultural and water resource systems, the changes are raising challenging issues for supply and demand management. A number of droughts that have occurred as a result of the climate's general drying out are having a serious negative impact on the economy, local populations, and the environment. Morocco has experienced severe droughts that have become more frequent over the past few decades, which has caused the country's economic development rates to be unstable. The drought is currently in its fourth year in Souss Massa, Om er Rabia, and other significant river basins, and reservoir levels are low.

The study is particularly concerned with how climate change is affecting extremely low precipitation, which is closely related to water scarcity and dry spells. The study contributes important new insights to the understanding of how climate change may affect Morocco. Additionally, this is the first study to exclusively focus on sector-level impacts by using Moroccan EUROCORDEX data. The study also aims to train Moroccan authorities in the use of climate change data for future planning and disseminate climate change forecast data to the relevant agencies.

The report was produced in the context of the CMI-led program on “Water Security Nexus in North Africa: Catalyzing Regional Coordination Around Climate Change, Resilience and Migration”, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). 

Citation: Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) (2020). Understanding Morocco’s Climate Futures: Using National Climate Change Data Sets to Support Planning and Investment.