International Journal Evolving Sustainable and Renewable Energy Solutions
Effect of Stratospheric Aerosol Injection on Climate Change and Air Temperature Over West Africa
Abstract
Adenuga K.P., Obasi-Oma T.R., Ojo O.S., Oloniyo O., Adeyemi B., Agele S. and Ewetumo T.
This study examines the application of stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) as a climate intervention strategy to mitigate climate-change-induced warming of air temperature (TAS) over West Africa. Present-day TAS from ERA5 is first evaluated against CMIP6 (HIST) simulations, showing strong agreement in both magnitude and spatial structure, with bias-corrected results indicating only slight underestimation and minimal deviation and CMIP6 (HIST) dataset is reliable and appropriate for future climate projections. Future climate projections reveal widespread warming across West Africa, with slight warming in coastal regions, moderate warming over the savanna, and significant warming in the arid and semi-arid zones. The implementation of SAI under future scenarios substantially reduces TAS across all climatic regions of West Africa, effectively offsetting greenhouse-gas-driven warming and lowering temperatures toward minimum values. The reduced TAS alleviates heat stress on crops, improves growing conditions, enhances crop yield, and consequently boosts food security in climate-vulnerable regions such as West Africa. The study recommends that SAI be further explored as a complementary climate mitigation option alongside climate-smart agricultural practices and adaptation strategies, while emphasizing the need for continued assessment of its long-term regional impacts and sustainability.