Rainfall variabilities in Sub-Sahara Africa: Observations and implications in Ilorin, Southwest Nigeria
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Date
2014
Authors
Ayeni, A.O.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Peter Lang GmbH
Abstract
This paper examines the effects of global climate change on annual rainfall intensity in Ilorin, Southwest Nigeria. Rainfall data of 60 years (1946-2006) were collected and analysed. Arithmetic mean and trend analysis were employed to generate monthly mean from the daily readings to determine the long-term dispersion scenario observed from the rainfall data over the years. The result shows that the start, annual intensity and end of rainfall over Ilorin did not differ while the length and amount of the rain shows variation over the area. The rain starts as between 7th March and 4th April. It was also observed that the end of rain had a late retreat in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, while 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s experienced early retreat of rainfall. It can, therefore, be concluded that the start, end and amount of rain experienced little variation, but the length of rain exhibited variation and this could influence the use of the rain for agriculture and for other purposes.
Description
Scholarly articles
Keywords
Climate change , South western Nigeria , Rainfall data , Agriculture , Research Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES
Citation
Ayeni, A. O. (2014). Rainfall variabilities in Sub-Sahara Africa: Observations and implications in Ilorin, Southwest Nigeria. In: C. C. Opara and B. P. K. Yerima (eds), The Impact of Climate Change on Sub-Saharan Africa. Peter Lang Gmbh, 6: 51 – 59