Rainfall Trends, Drought Frequency and La Niña in Tuvalu

This study addresses rainfall trends, the frequency of droughts, La Niña influences and the relationship between rainfall and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) in Tuvalu. The findings revealed that;

* de-trended rainfall time series show declining trends in all four rainfall stations over the period 1953-2012;

* the frequency of drought ranges from three to fourteen years with a mean of nine years

* the occurrence of drought appears to follow the La Niña years

* boplots provide an effective option for defining drought

* there is empirical support for a moderate to strong correlation between the de-trended values of SST and rainfall in the area of study