Assessment of drought vulnerability and occurrence zones in North Central Nigeria was carried out in this study using standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) 12 months’ time scale was computed from long-term rainfall data between 1960 and 2015 obtained from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) Abuja. The SPI results were further subjected to Mann-Kendal and Sen’s slope analysis for trend detection. To assess the vulnerability of drought and occurrence zones, the SPI and other geo-spatial techniques were employed to generate drought vulnerability maps for three epochs: 2000-2005, 2005-2010 and 2010-2015 respectively. The SPI values were interpolated using Inverse Weighted (IDW) techniques in ArcGIS10.5 to generate the vulnerability maps for the selected model years. The outcome of drought trend and vulnerability maps reveals increasing drought trend dominated by near normal and moderate conditions in Abuja, Ilorin and Lokoja while moderate and severe droughts were observed in Minna and Jos. The study therefore recommends holistic drought monitoring and management strategies in order to mitigate its adverse impact on water resources and rainfall-dependent agriculture.
References
[1]
WMO (2012) WMO Statement on the Status of the Global Climate in 2012. World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Geneva, 2.
[2]
Salerno, M.Y. (2015) Assessing the Predictability of Weekly Drought Improvement Using NEBRASKA’s Automated Weather Network. M.Sc. Thesis, Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Creighton, Omaha.
[3]
Olaniran, O.J. (2002) Rainfall Anomalies: The Contemporary Understanding. 55th Inaugural Lecture Series, University of Ilorin, Ilorin.
[4]
Atedhor, G.O. (2016) Growing Season Rainfall Trends and Drought Intensities in the Sudando-Sahelian Region of Nigeria. Faculty Journal of Environment, 8, 41-52.
[5]
NIMET (2011) Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SPR). A Publication of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency Abuja.
[6]
NIMET (2017) Seasonl Rainfall Prediction (SPR). A Publication of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Abuja.
[7]
NIMET (2018) Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SPR). A Publication of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Abuja.
[8]
Anufurom, C.A (2009) Climate Change Impacts in Different Agro-Ecological Zones of West Africa. 30th International Post Graduate Course at the Regional WMO Training Center.
[9]
Mamman, J.M. (2018) Effects of Rainfall Trend Yield in Mohua, Niger State, Nigeria. Journal of Environmental Analysis and Ecology Studies, 1, Article ID: 000512.
[10]
Farauta, B.K., Egbule, C.L., Idrisa, Y.L. and Agu, C.V. (2011) Climate Change and Adaptation Measures in Northern Nigeria: Empirical Situation and Policy Implications. The African Technology Policy Study Network, Nairobi.
[11]
Mohammed, S. and Abdullahi, U. (2015) Analysis of Periodic Drought and Daptative Strategies of Smaller Farming Communities in Dawakin Tofa and Rimi Drylands of Northwestern Nigeria. In: Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Drylands, Centre for Dry land Agriculture, Kano.
[12]
Utser, J.T. and Aho, M.I. (2012) Water Shortage and Health Problems in Benue State Nigeria. Impacts and Prospects for Solutions. International Journal of Scientific and Technology Research, 1, 79-85.
[13]
Aper, J.A. (2006) Stream Discharge Characteristics in the Lower Benue Drainage Basin. PhD Thesis, the School of Graduate Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
[14]
Oladipo, E.O. (1993) A Comprehensive Approach to Drought and Desertification in Northern Nigeria. Natural Hazards, 8, 235-261. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00690910
[15]
Mckee, T.B., Doesken, N.J. and Kleist, J. (1993) The Relationship of Drought Frequency and Duration to Time Scales. In: Proceedings of the 8th Conference on Applied Climatology, Vol. 17, American Meteorological Society, Anaheim, 179-183.
[16]
Nigeria Meteorological Agency (2018) Released Rainfall Data for Academic Research, Headquarters, Abuja Nigeria.
[17]
Binboll, N.L. and Edicha, J.A. (2012) Drought Risk Assessment in Yola, Adamawa State Nigeria. Katsina Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences, 2.
[18]
Fabeku, B.B. and Okogbue, E.C. (2014) Trends in Vegetation Response to Drought in Sudano-Sahelian Part of Northern Nigeria. Journal of Atmospheric and Climate Sciences, 4, 569-588. https://doi.org/10.4236/acs.2014.44052
[19]
Alatise, M.O. and Ikumawoyi, O.B. (2007) Evaluation of Drought from Rainfall Data for Lokoja. A Confluence of Two Major Rivers. Electronic Journal of Polish Agricultural Universities, 10, Article ID: #05.
[20]
Achugbu, I.C. and Anugwo, S.C. (2016) Drought Trend Analysis in Kano Using Standardized Precipitation Index. Journal of Engineering and Technology, 1, 105-110.
[21]
Okpara, J.N., Tarbule, A. and Perumal, M. (2013) Study of Climate Change in Niger River Basin. West Africa Reality Not a Myth. In: Singh, B.R., Ed., Climate Change Realities over Ice Caps, Sea Level and Risk in Tech Rijeka, IntechOpen, London.
[22]
Olajuyibe, A.E., Adegboyega, S. and Balogun, I. (2016) Monitoring Drought and Effects on Vegetation in Sokoto, Nigeria Using Statistical and Geospatial Technologies. Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management, 9, 56-59. https://doi.org/10.4314/ejesm.v9i1.6
[23]
Ideki, O. (2018) Vulnerability and Adaptation Strategies to Drought Risk in North Central Nigeria. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, School of Graduate Studies, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt.
