Recent Changes in Rainfall and Diurnal Temperatures in Selected Cities in Tropical Monsoon and Tropical Savanna Climatic Zones of Southern Nigeria (Published)
Statistical approach has been used to analyze trends of rainfall and diurnal temperatures in Southern Nigeria. Daily data from Nigerian Meteorological Agency from 2000 to 2019 in five stations are used for the analysis. XLSTAT software is employed in generating the Mann-Kendall (MK) trends for rainfall, DTR and, in plotting graphs. The results show that annual rainfall amount is on increasing trend in all the stations with the lowest increase of 1.2 mm/year in Owerri to 11.46 mm per year in Ibadan. The increasing annual trends, even though insignificant in all the stations except in Ikeja, is enough to cause negative impacts on the environment. Also, diurnal temperatures are in anti-correspondence with rainfall amount.
Keywords: Rainfall, Southern Nigeria, cities, diurnal temperatures, tropical monsoon, tropical savanna climatic zones