Parametric Analysis of Rainfall Variability Over Some Selected Locations in Nigeria

Rainfall is one meteorological parameter that affects virtually all human activities. For instance, the amount of rainfall received in an area is an important determining factor in estimating or quantifying the amount of water available to meet various demands, such as agricultural, industrial, domestic water supply, and power generation. Climate change has generally been accepted to be a result of the emission of excess greenhouse gases. It has caused an increase in flooding, severe and more frequent droughts, increase in wildfires, and heatwaves in various parts of the globe. Climate change is said to have a considerable impact on the variability in hydro-meteorological variables such as rainfall, temperature, and evaporation. In this study, we carry out a parametric analysis of rainfall variability over some selected locations in Nigeria and determine the trend using surface observation data from seven weather stations. The datasets of rainfall used in this study were acquired; from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) for a period of 30 years (1980 to 2010) from seven locations; which are Abuja, Enugu, Ikeja, Ilorin, Maiduguri, Port Harcourt, and Sokoto, representing the six geographical zones of Nigeria. The results gotten showed an upward movement in the trend line which indicated an increase in the amount of rainfall received by the study areas. While some Cities (Maiduguri, Sokoto) received a large increase in the amount of rainfall received yearly, others received a slight increase such as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ilorin, Abuja and Enugu.

Climate Change Effect on Irrigation Water Requirement of Wheat and Maize in Northern Part of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries for climate change in agricultural water management. A research had been done to assess climate change effects on irrigation water use of wheat and maize in the northern part of Bangladesh. The twenty nine years of data (1990-2018) were analyzed with Mann-Kendall test as well as Sen’s slope for climate change impact and the responsible weather parameters due to climate change were identified with correlation coefficients. The crop water requirement of wheat in Bogura and Rangpur was declining at the rate of 3.3mm and 2.3mm per decade respectively. Net irrigation water requirement of wheat at both Bogura and Rangpur was inclining at the rate of 1mm and 10mm per decade respectively because the effective rainfall of these regions was decreasing at 5mm and 11mm per decade respectively. The crop water requirement of maize for similar districts was increasing at the rate of 3.2mm and 2.5mm per decade respectively although net irrigation water requirement had statistically non-significance for climate change effect. The weather parameter, which was mainly responsible for climatic change in irrigation water requirement, was increasing temperature. Therefore, wheat cultivation might be coped with climate change in the northern part of Bangladesh rather than maize on the basis of irrigation and water management.