Spatial Analysis of Rainfall and Temperature Regimes over Selected States of Southeastern Nigeria: Implications for Agricultural Practices

Abstract

The investigation of rainfall and temperature patterns is of great concern to government of nations, especially since it is evident that changes in their characteristics are especially detrimental for economies that are climate dependent. In south eastern Nigeria Rainfall and temperature have major impacts on agriculture, ecological setting and water resources management.  Also with the recent interest and investment of the government to improve on agriculture, necessitates an investigation of the patterns of rainfall and temperature, since agriculture is still large climate dependent. Expost-facto research method in the context of quasi experimental research design was adopted for the study. Data for rainfall and temperature were obtained from Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET). Analysis of data was achieved using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. Results showed that there is an upward trend in the rainfall of Abia and Enugu States (0.1026mm and 0.0089mm per annum, respectively) while that of Imo State is a downward trend (1.1255 mm per annum). On the other hand, mean temperature is increasing annually in all the states at the rate of 0.0199 in Abia State, 0.00009 in Enugu state and 0.0151 in Imo state, per annum. The analysis of variance result was significant at p<0.05, revealing that, Rainfall, minimum temperature, maximum temperature and mean temperature were significantly different spatially. This study observed changes and irregularities in the pattern of rainfall and temperature in the south eastern region of Nigeria as a result, the study strongly advocates for a re-examination of anthropogenic actions that will transcend into environmental friendly interactions between man and the environment in the region.

Keywords: Spatial, Rainfall, Temperature, Food-Security, South-Eastern