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The quantification of climate change impacts on several human activities depends on reliable weather data series, without gaps and long enough to build up future climate. Based on that, this study aimed to evaluate the performance of temperature-based models for estimating global solar radiation and gridded databases (AgCFSR, AgMERRA, NASA/POWER, and XAVIER) as alternative ways for filling gaps in historical weather series (1980–2009) in Brazil and to project climate change scenarios based on measured and gridded weather data. Projections for mid- and end-of-century periods (2040–2069 and 2070–2099), using seven global climate models from CMIP5 under intermediate (RCP4.5) and high (RCP8.5) emission scenarios, were performed. The Bristow–Campbell model was the one that best estimated solar radiation, whereas the XAVIER gridded database was the closest to observed weather data. Future climate projections, under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios, as expected, showed warmer conditions for all scenarios over Brazil. On the contrary, rainfall projections are more uncertain. Despite that, the rainfall amounts will be reduced in the North-Northeast region and increased in Southern Brazil. No significant differences between projections using the observed and XAVIER gridded database were observed; therefore, such a database showed to be reliable for both to fill gaps and to generate climate change scenarios.

The intricate relationship between climate and society in a given region demands a profound understanding of climate patterns, especially in agricultural areas like Diamantina, Minas Gerais (MG), recognized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as the birthplace of the first Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) in Brazil, situated in the southwest region of the country. Given the growing concerns about climate change, we conducted a meticulous analysis of the climatic characteristics of Diamantina-MG. To achieve this, we examined historical meteorological data from 1973 to 2022, employing the Mann–Kendall and Sen’s slope tests to analyze trends. Additionally, we utilized three global climate models (GCMs) under different shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) to predict future climate scenarios (2021–2100) based on the projections of the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). Furthermore, we used Köppen and Thornthwaite climate classification methodologies to characterize both the current and future climate conditions of the region. Our results indicate that, historically, Diamantina-MG has experienced significant increases in minimum temperature, indicating a warmer climate in recent decades. For temperature, the projections show a consensus among models, projecting a continuous increase, potentially reaching up to 5.8 °C above the historical average temperature (19.2 °C) by the end of the century. Regarding rainfall projections, they show greater uncertainty, with discrepancies among models observed until 2060. However, specifically for the second half of the century (2060–2100), the models agree that there will be increases in annual rainfall. Regarding the climatic types of the region, we found that the current Köppen Cwb and Thornthwaite B3rB’3a’ classifications could shift to Aw and B1wA’a’, representing a humid tropical savanna climate with longer periods of water deficiency, considering the impacts resulting from increased air temperature and evapotranspiration. In summary, the study’s results indicate that climate changes are occurring and are likely to intensify in the Jequitinhonha Valley region, MG, in the future. The analysis of these data, from the perspective of the Brazilian GIAHS sustainability, reveals the importance of considering adaptation and mitigation measures to ensure the resilience of agricultural systems and local communities in the region that face these significant environmental changes.

Long-term changes in important weather variables such as evapotranspiration (ET) and precipitation are expected as a response to climate change. These changes may require adjustments to current strategies of planning and management of water resources. The objective of this work was to conduct a spatiotemporal characterization of evapotranspiration in the State of Paraná, Brazil, including in this approach a temporal trend analysis. A similar analysis was also conducted for precipitation. Thus, the historical data (1980-2010) from 33 weather stations were analyzed. The spatial distribution of the data was carried out by geostatistical techniques (ordinary kriging) and the trend analysis by the tests Mann-Kendall and Sen. According to the results, evapotranspiration increases from the coast to the interior of the state, with the highest values in the northeast and northwest regions, reaching levels of about 1200 mm yr-1. The temporal variability of the ET presented a significant upward trend in 12% of the locations, with increases from 2.5 to 7.0 mm yr-1. Precipitation was higher in the coastal and south-central regions and the lowest amounts were identified in the northeast and northwest regions. The precipitation trend analysis indicated a significant downward trend in precipitation volume of five locations. The evapotranspiration and precipitation showed, in general, no statistically significant trends in most of the stations analyzed; however, the upward trends for ET and downward trends for precipitation indicate local changes in the State of Paraná.

The hydrological variable evapotranspiration (ET) is challenging to estimate because it cannot be measured directly in natural environments (except in small plots). The uncertainties associated with the models used for its prediction have increased under climate change conditions. We studied the influence of stomatal resistance on ET estimates using the Penman-Monteith method as projected by three general circulation models in two emission scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) for future climates throughout the twenty-first century (2010–2039, 2040–2069, and 2070–2099). We also investigated the probable ET rate changes in relation to the current (30 years average, 1980–2009) climate conditions for the Paraná state in the southern region of Brazil. The results were regionalized to help policymakers assess climate change impacts and design adaptation measures. ET increases of up to 15% were found in future climate conditions, which may lead to a significant increase in the water demand for agricultural crops. However, we believe that plant morphophysiological changes may occur under atmospheric CO2 enrichment conditions and that a possible reduction in stomatal conductance will result in lower ET increases than those obtained with the traditional Penman-Monteith method. When considering future climate scenarios, we propose the equation be adjusted to consider stomatal resistance as a function of CO2 concentrations.

This study is focused on assessing the impacts of different regional climate model targeted simulations performed at convection-permitting resolution (CPRCM) in the AgS crop model yield simulations, evaluating to what extent climate model uncertainty impacts the modeled yield—considering the spatial and temporal variability of crop yield simulations over central-south Brazil. The ensemble of CPRCMs has been produced as part of a Flagship Pilot Study (FPS-SESA) framework, endorsed by the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX). The AgS simulated crop yield exhibited significant differences, in both space and time, among the simulations driven by the different CPRCMs as well as when compared with the simulations driven by observations. Rainfall showed the highest uncertainty in CPRCM simulations, particularly in its spatial variability, whereas modeled temperature and solar radiation were generally more accurate and exhibited smaller spatial and temporal differences. The results evidenced the need for multi-model simulations to account for different uncertainty, from different climate models and climate models parameterizations, in crop yield estimations. Inter-institutional collaboration and coordinated science are key aspects to address these end-to-end studies in South America, since there is no single institution able to produce such CPRCM-CropModels ensembles.