Highlighting climate change by applying statistical tests and climate indices to the temperature of Kébir Rhumel watershed, Algeria

A number of statistical methods (Mann-Kendall, Pettitt test, etc.) and climatic indices (Emberger, Euverte) were used to highlight climate change in the Kébir Rhumel watershed, at seven geographically selected stations, by studying temperature on a monthly scale. The time series used was from 1901 to 2021 (121 years). The results show a breakpoint in the series, identified at 1980, for all the stations. Analysis of the monthly temperature values, before and after the breakpoint, shows an increase of between 1.08 and 1.18 °C. The graphical representation of the climatic indices indicates that most of the stations moved from the sub-humid stage (before the break) to the semi-arid stage (after the break). Euverte’s method displays that the temperatures for 80% of the months are shifting towards a warmer, less humid climate.