Modeling soil volumetric water content based on climatic factors in the Tripoli region (Libya) using multiple linear regression

Climate scientists have been interested in the causes of the significant rise in temperatures, resulting in cold and heat waves, and consequently, periods of drought and flooding in various parts of the world. Our current study highlights the impact of climatic factors on soil moisture in the city of Tripoli, Libya. While many climatic variables affect volumetric water content of the soil, statistical analysis revealed a high degree of correlation between these factors, exceeding VIF values. Therefore, the focus was on relative humidity, average soil temperature at four levels, and precipitation. A strong positive correlation was found between volumetric water content of the soil, relative humidity, and precipitation (r = 0.638 and 0.528, respectively). However, the correlation with temperature was inverse (r = − 0.559) during the study period (2001–2024). Using multiple regression to determine the most significant factor affecting volumetric water content of the soil, precipitation was found to be the most influential ( β =4.22× 10⁻⁴ ). Increasing the amount of precipitation by (1 mm), the average soil moisture rises directly by 0.000422 at a significance level of P <0.001.