IN TUNISIA

TUNISIA
IN

Physical geography
Rabat

Algiers

Tunis
Tripoli
Cairo

Nouakchott
Khartoum

Dakar

Niamey
Bissau
NDjamena
Bamako Ouagadougou
Freetown
Abuja
Yamoussoukro
Monrovia
PortoNovo
Accra
Douala Bangui
Malabo
So Tom

Libreville

Brazzaville

Kinshasa

Asmara
Djibouti

Juba

Addis Abeba
Mogadishu

Kampala
Nairobi
Kigali
Bujumbura
Dodoma

Luanda
Maroni
Lilongwe
Lusaka
Harare
Windhoek

Gaborone
Pretoria
Maputo
Maseru

Antananarivo

Tunisiais the smallest country

inNorthern Africa, bordering
theMediterranean Sea, having a
western border withAlgeriaand
south-eastern border withLibya
where the width of land tapers to
the south-west into theSahara.
The country has north, east and
complex east-to-north coasts
including the curvedGulf of
Gabes, which forms the western
part of Africa'sGulf of Sidra.
Tunisiaoccupies an area of
163,610 square kilometres, of
which 8,250 are water.

Climate in Tunisia
Kppen climate classification
Dry-summer orMediterranean
climates :
( Csa )
Steppe climate (Semi-arid) BS:
Hot steppe ( BSh )
Steppe climate (Semi-arid) BS:
Cold steppe ( BSK )
Desert climateBW:
Hot desert ( BWh )

Tunisia's climate ishot-summer Mediterranean climate in the

north, where winters are mild with moderate rainfall and summers
are hot and dry.
Temperatures in July and August can exceed 40C . Winters are
mild with temperatures rarely exceeding 20C (exception is the
south-west of the country).
The south of the country is desert. The terrain in the north is
mountainous, which, moving south, gives way to a hot, dry central
plain. As we go to the south, the climate naturally becomes hotter,
drier and sunnier. The southern part has therefore ahot desert
climate with extremely hot summers, warm winters and very low
annual rainfall amount. Daytime temperatures consistently turn
around 45C during summers. However, the warmth of winters is
only during daytime because nights can be cold in the desert.

Concerning the precipitations , annual average rainfall

amount is lower than 500mm nearly everywhere in Tunisia.
Tunisia is therefore a dry, semi-arid country. Areas with a preSaharan climate receive below 250mm and areas with a
typical Saharan climate receive below 100mm of annual
average precipitation. The southernmost part receives rainfall
as low as 50mm .
*The ministry of agriculture

Climate diagram

The driest month is July with only 3 mm . An average of 62 mm

makes the month of January the month with the highest rate of
precipitation .

Important indicators in Tunisia

1

Temperatures have increased significantly . At the annual and seasonal

scales. Hot extremes have increased and cold extremes have
decreased .

2
3
4

Precipitations : Wet extremes experienced an average of small

increase ( not significant ) . Dry extremes increased mostly in the south .

Drought ( and Aridity ) has become longer, more frequent and more
severe and intense . ( 1758 to 1900 : 4 droughts and after 1900 : 20 droughts )
Floods are extreme events but should be mentionned because they
costed peoples lives .

1 - Tunisia suffered from terrible flooding in both February and

October this year . However , by far the worst floods came in
1969 , when Tunisia endured 38 days of rain during September
and October . Flooding left 600 people dead, 300,000 displaced
and 70,000 homes destroyed .
2 It usually snows on the top of the mountains , but these past
few years , Tunisia has witnessed snow in some regions of the
North-west , and it became more of a pattern .

*February 2016

Spaculations regarding the

precipitations and the Temperature
in Tunisia ( regardless of the
climate future scenarios ) 2050
2100

Drought evolution from 1971 to

2040

Vulnerability to climate change

1600
by 2030
1800

0h
7000
00h

Coastline : Loss by
submersion

Agricultural
lands

Built-up areas

Irrigable land

3800

28% 00H
Water
resources

50%

Loss by
salinization of
the resources
currently
available in
coastal
aquifers

Forest loss by
bush fires

30%

Reduction of
Agricutural
Gross
Domestic
Product

Health
concerns
The resurgence
and

Tourism

proliferation of certain vectorborne diseases, such as

malaria, leishmaniosis or
dengue

Rising sea levels and coastal

erosion

Respiratory diseases caused

by the rise in temperature
Water-borne diseases caused
by degradation of the
bacteriological, physical and
chemical quality of water
resources

Contrasting scenarios to explore the future

A2is based on a selection of economic growth at the expense

of social and ecological aspects within a global context .
B1A convergent world with dematerialization, introduction
of clean technologies, and the lowest rate of population growth
giving priority to the social aspect . In fact, global climate
governance is strengthened .
B2A world in which the emphasis is on local solutions to
economic, social, and environmental sustainability, a large
ecological voluntarism as a result of the strong climate global
governance.
A1FIA future world of very rapid economic growth, and

Results of four models and four

scenarios According to the Tyndall Center study

A2 Scenario

Projected decrease of annual precipitations by 2050 varying from 10 % to 30 % !

Projected increase in Temperature that could reach + 1.9 C and +
3.6 C in 2050 !

Variables and extreme phenomena

Drought is the highlight of this climate projection . The number
and intensities of the dry years are expected to increase by 1030 % !
With a certain regional disparity, the North-west would suffer
the least accentuation of this phenomenon while the South-West
would suffer the most .
Increased natural hazards will be witnessed ; increase in the
intensity of heavy rains, accelerated rise in the level of sea
waves, rising heat waves, lower precipitation coupled with
prospects of real population growth ( + 33% ) , storms,
subsidence of soils etc..

Some of the measures to adapt to

climate change
Agriculture

redeveloping and displacing

coastal industrial zones .

Coastline

Ec
rs osy
s
he
t
e
ot
m

Coastline

ds Wa
n
te
La
r

others

-Introducing a climate
monitoring and early warning
system .
-Conserving and exploiting
genetic heritage to adapt crops
to climate change .
-Updating the agricultural map
to take into account the
impacts .

Water resources
projects to transfer and reuse
treated wastewater .

Ecosystems
-Conservation of the ecological
functions of low-lying coastal
areas .
-Rehabilitation of forest
nurseries .
-Management of the degraded
rough grazing .
.

Raise awareness

Thank you for your attention but I think

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