Monday, 8 January 2018
Exhibit Hall 3 (ACC) (Austin, Texas)
CHANGES IN THE PATTERNS OF RAINY DAYS IN NIGERIA
Aworinde, S., Oni, F.O., Somoye, A. and Oladipo, E. O
Abstract
This study examines the changes in the patterns of rainy days in Nigeria for the period 1971-2010 with a view of determining any significant shifts in recent times. The decadal variations in the patterns of the raining days were also examined. A rainy day was determined as having recorded at least 1mm of rainfall and the length of the rainy days was taken as the period between the effective beginning of the rains and their ends. The data was subjected to statistical methods for variability and trend analysis.
The results obtained reveal that on the average, the length of rainy days varied from 300 days in the mangrove ecological zone along the south-eastern coast to less than 60 days in the Sudano-Sahelian ecological zone of Nigeria. The study also suggests variations in and zones of anomalous length of the rainy days observed for the different ecological zones. The results suggest recent changes in the number of rainy days in comparison to previous studies as well as spatial variations in the increase or decrease of raining days observed across the country.
The implications of the results for agricultural practices including the determination of the onset and cessation of the planting season were also discussed.
Keyword: Rainy days, Ecological zones and length of rainy days.
Aworinde, S., Oni, F.O., Somoye, A. and Oladipo, E. O
Abstract
This study examines the changes in the patterns of rainy days in Nigeria for the period 1971-2010 with a view of determining any significant shifts in recent times. The decadal variations in the patterns of the raining days were also examined. A rainy day was determined as having recorded at least 1mm of rainfall and the length of the rainy days was taken as the period between the effective beginning of the rains and their ends. The data was subjected to statistical methods for variability and trend analysis.
The results obtained reveal that on the average, the length of rainy days varied from 300 days in the mangrove ecological zone along the south-eastern coast to less than 60 days in the Sudano-Sahelian ecological zone of Nigeria. The study also suggests variations in and zones of anomalous length of the rainy days observed for the different ecological zones. The results suggest recent changes in the number of rainy days in comparison to previous studies as well as spatial variations in the increase or decrease of raining days observed across the country.
The implications of the results for agricultural practices including the determination of the onset and cessation of the planting season were also discussed.
Keyword: Rainy days, Ecological zones and length of rainy days.
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