The West African climate system: a review of the AMMA model inter‐comparison initiatives

We review the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA) model inter‐comparison activities for West Africa. The Model Inter‐comparison Project is an evaluation exercise of how global and regional atmospheric models represent seasonal and intra‐seasonal variations of the climate and rainfall over the Sahel. The Land surface Model Inter‐comparison Project in turn focuses on modelling critical land surface processes over West Africa and on their link with the atmosphere. The CHEmistry Model Inter‐comparison Project (CHEMIP) is a comparison of the tropospheric composition as simulated by a number of Chemical Transport Models (CTM) and Chemistry‐Climate Models. We highlight the main model limitations and provide recommendations for future development.