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LATITUDINAL DEPENDENCE OF SOME METEOROLOGICAL PARAMETERS IN NIGERIA

AIYELABEGAN, Amuda Tunde


Variations, trends and relationship of some meteorological parameters maximum temperature, minimum temperature, rainfall, relative humidity and wind speed, sunshine hour and solar radiation over three stations, Ikeja 06036N, 0305E, Ilorin 08.480N, 4.50E and Kano 120N, 8.300E of Nigeria have been studies using monthly mean data spanning from 1998 to 2008 obtained from the Nigeria meteorological agency Oshodi, Nigeria. Relationships between the meteorological parameters were examined by plotting pairs of the parameters against months. Pearson correlation coefficient was also used to quantify the relationship. The results show that the difference between the maximum and minimum air temperature increases from southwest (Ikeja) 7.360C to North West (Kano) 13.390C. Hence there has been an increase with altitude. Solar radiation increases with decrease in air temperature in all the stations and it decreases negatively with altitude (Ikeja, -0.74. Ilorin, -0.61 and Kano, -0.265). Both solar radiation and temperature are lower on rainy months than on dry months. Solar radiation increases as sunshine hour decreases in all stations and it decreases with altitude. Solar radiation decreases during the rainy season and increases during the dry season. Wind speed decreases as temperature increase Ikeja and Ilorin. But wind speed increases as the temperature increases Kano. The relationship became stronger with increasing altitude. Ikeja has the weakest relationship (-0.18) and Kano with the strongest relationship (0.19). Stronger winds are associated with relative humidity and light increase in rainfall for all the stations with the strongest relationship (0.75) kano and weakest relationship (0.28) at Ikeja. Hence the positive relationship between relative humidity and rainfall increase with altitude. Thus, meteorological parameter varies with altitude along western axes of Nigeria.