Climate change in Lagos state, Nigeria: what really changed?

Abstract

Our study revealed periodicities of 2.3 and 2.25 years in wet and dry seasons and periodicities of 2 to 5 years on seasonal and annual timescales. Minimum temperature (Tmin), maximum temperature (Tmax) and evaporation recorded increases of 2.47, 1.37 and 28.37 %, respectively, but a reduction of 19.58 % in rainfall on decadal timescale. Periodicity of 8 to 12 years was also observed in annual Tmax. Cramer's test indicated a warming trend with significant Tmax increase in February, April, July, August, October and November during 2000-2009 on decadal monthly timescale, a significant decline in Summer rainfall but significant Tmax increase in Spring, Autumn and Winter on decadal seasonal timescale. The low correlation of rainfall with temperature parameters and evaporation indicates that advection of moisture into Lagos State seems to be the dominant mechanism controlling rainfall within the State alongside other tropical and extra-tropical factors. In addition, our study revealed that the persistent state of minimum temperature often precedes the arrival and reversal of the phase of maximum temperature. Furthermore, our study also revealed that extreme and high variable rainfalls, which are associated with the increased warming trend, had periodicities of 1 to 3 years with a probability of 86.45 % of occurring every 3 years between April and September. It is recommended that government and private sector should give financial and technical supports to climate researches in order to appropriately inform policy making to improve the adaptive capacity and resilience of Lagos State against climate change impacts and guard against maladaptation.

Evaluating the Impacts of Flooding on the Residents of Lagos, Nigeria

“…Lagos has a low-lying topography with slopes typically between 1-4%, and elevations ranging from or below sea level to approximately 2m above sea level [10]. The low slope angle delays the drainage of water from the land, which combined with the increase in runoff generation associated with urban expansion, increases the flood risk over time.…”

Impacts of flood disasters in Nigeria: A critical evaluation of health implications and management

“…During the long rainy season, many parts of Lagos are susceptible to flooding and this is because of building of houses on flood plains, inadequate drainage of storm water, lack of maintenance of existing drainage systems, increased run-off because of uncontrolled expansions of impermeable surfaces and weak institutional capacity (Adelekan 2010). Lagos State ranks 15th in the world in terms of population exposed to coastal flooding (Sojobi, Balogun & Salami 2015).…”

“…Streams of river basins with smaller drainage area are known to respond quickly to climate change on shorter timescales ranging from hours to days to months (Chen et al 2010). Located close to the Atlantic Ocean is a small deltaic drainage area; this makes the rivers and streams in Lagos State very sensitive to the extreme rainfall resulting from climate change and the impact of human activity (Sojobi et al 2015). Also the frequency of storm surges may be exacerbated by sea level rise, especially at high tides and during the rainy season, characterised by heavy rainfall of long duration and intensity and increasing inadequacy of drainage systems (Adelekan 2010).…”

Investigation of school building microclimate using advanced energy equipment: Case study

“…Saudi Arabia has a total of fourteen prototype school building designs, in total there are 14 designs. Any fault in the design will be replicated many times, in a study conducted by Sojobi et al [1], which investigate the climate change in Lagos state, Nigeria. Various studies have demonstrated the importance of climate and microclimatic studies and their influencing factors, variabilities and interactions Sojobi et al [1]; Deng et al [2].…”

“…Any fault in the design will be replicated many times, in a study conducted by Sojobi et al [1], which investigate the climate change in Lagos state, Nigeria. Various studies have demonstrated the importance of climate and microclimatic studies and their influencing factors, variabilities and interactions Sojobi et al [1]; Deng et al [2]. The study indicated that the persistent state of minimum temperature often precedes the arrival and reversal of the phase of the maximum temperature.…”