Application of GIS to assess rainfall variability impacts on crop yield in Guinean Savanna part of Nigeria

The scientific evidence on rainfall variability with its significant impacts on crop yield is now stronger than ever. It is even more so on maize that serves as staple food in most parts of Sub-Sahara Africa. Hence, this study aim at examines and map spatio-temporal impacts of rainfall variability on water availability for maize yield using Geographic Information System (GIS). Major regions where maize is highly produced in Nigeria were selected and rainfall data for 30 years (1970 to 2000) were used for theGeospatial analysis. GIS Interpolation and other geospatial Analysis techniques were carried out to map the impacts of rainfall variability on maize yield. The results of the analysis and the maps produced show that inter-annual rainfall variability consequently affect the rate of maize yield in Nigeria

Climate change adaptation options in farming communities of selected Nigerian ecological zones

This chapter examines the impacts of climate change on three tropical crops and assesses the climate change adaptation options adopted by rural farmers in the region. The study was conducted among farming communities settled in three major ecological zones in Nigeria. Over 37 years of data on rainfall and temperature were analyzed to examine climate change impacts on three major crops: rice, maize, and cassava. Farmers' adaptive capacity was assessed with a survey. Climatic data, crop yields, and survey data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The relation between rainfall/temperature and crop yields was examined using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results show a high variation in the annual rainfall and temperature during the study period. The major findings from this research is that crops in different ecological zones respond differently to climate variation. The result revealed that there is a very strong relationship between precipitation and the yield of rice and cassava at p <0.05 level of significance. The results further showed low level of adaption among the rural farmers. The study concludes that rainfall and temperature variability has a significant impact on crop yield in the study area, but that the adaptive capacity of most farmers to these impacts is low. There is a need for enhancing the adaptation options available to farmers in the region, which should be the focus of government policies

Africa

Africa is one of the lowest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change, yet key development sectors have already experienced widespread losses and damages attributable to human-induced climate change, including biodiversity loss, water shortages, reduced food production, loss of lives and reduced economic growth (high confidence1).// Between 1.5°C and 2°C global warming—assuming localised and incremental adaptation—negative impacts are projected to become widespread and severe with reduced food production, reduced economic growth, increased inequality and poverty, biodiversity loss, increased human morbidity and mortality (high confidence). Limiting global warming to 1.5°C is expected to substantially reduce damages to African economies, agriculture, human health, and ecosystems compared to higher levels of global warming (high confidence).// Exposure and vulnerability to climate change in Africa are multi-dimensional with socioeconomic, political and environmental factors intersecting (very high confidence). Africans are disproportionately employed in climate-exposed sectors: 55–62% of the sub-Saharan workforce is employed in agriculture and 95% of cropland is rainfed. In rural Africa, poor and female-headed households face greater livelihood risks from climate hazards. In urban areas, growing informal settlements without basic services increase the vulnerability of large populations to climate hazards, especially women, children and the elderly. // Adaptation in Africa has multiple benefits, and most assessed adaptation options have medium effectiveness at reducing risks for present-day global warming, but their efficacy at future warming levels is largely unknown (high confidence)./

Impact of climate variability on pineapple production in Ghana

Background: Climate variations have a considerable impact on crop production. For pineapple, variable temperatures and rainfall patterns are implicated, yet there is limited knowledge of the conditions and consequences of such variations. Pineapple production plays a major role in Ghana, primarily via socioeconomic impacts and the export economy. The aims of this study were to assess the impact of current climatic trends and variations in four pineapple growing districts in Ghana to provide stakeholders, particularly farmers, with improved knowledge for guidance in adapting to changing climate. Results: Trend analysis, standardized anomaly, correlation analysis as well as focus group discussions were employed to describe climate and yields as well as assess the relationship between climate and pineapple production from 1995 to 2014. The results revealed that, relative to Ga district, temperature (minimum and maximum) in the study areas was increasing over this period at a rate of up to 0.05 °C. Rainfall trends increased in all but Nsawam Adoagyiri district. Rainfall and temperature had different impacts on production, and pineapple was particularly sensitive to minimum temperature as accounting for up to 82% of yield variability. Despite consistent report of rainfall impact on growth stages later affecting quantity and quality of fruits, minimal statistical significance was found between rainfall and yield. Conclusions: With continuously increasing stresses imposed by a changing climate, the sustainability of pineapple production in Ghana is challenged. This subsequently has detrimental impacts on national employment and exports capacity resulting in increased poverty. Further research to explore short- and long-term adaption options in response to challenging conditions in the pineapple industry in Ghana is suggested

Early warning climate indices for malaria and meningitis in tropical ecological zones

This study aims at assessing the impacts of climate indices on the spatiotemporal distribution of malaria and meningitis in Nigeria. The primary focus of the research is to develop an Early Warning System (EWS) for assessing climate variability implications on malaria and meningitis spread in the study area. Both climate and health data were used in the study to determine the relationship between climate variability and the occurrence of malaria and meningitis. The assessment was based on variations in different ecological zones in Nigeria. Two specific sample locations were randomly selected in each ecological zone for the analysis. The climatic data used in this study are dekadal&nbsp;precipitation, minimum and maximum temperature between 2000 and 2018, monthly aerosol optical depth between 2000 and 2018. The results show that temperature is relatively high throughout the year because the country is located in a tropical region. The significant findings of this study are that rainfall has much influence on the occurrence of malaria, while temperature and aerosol have more impact on meningitis. We found the degree of relationship between precipitation and malaria, there is a correlation coefficient R2 ≥ 70.0 in Rainforest, Freshwater, and Mangrove ecological zones. The relationship between temperature and meningitis is accompanied by R2 ≥ 72.0 in both Sahel and Sudan, while aerosol and meningitis harbour R2 = 77.33 in the Sahel. The assessment of this initial data seems to support the finding that the occurrences of meningitis are higher in the northern region, especially the Sahel and Sudan. In contrast, malaria occurrence is higher in the southern part of the study area. In all, the multiple linear regression results revealed that rainfall was directly associated with malaria with β = 0.64, p = 0.001 but aerosol was&nbsp;directly associated with meningitis with β = 0.59, p &lt; 0.001. The study concludes that variability in climatic elements such as low precipitation, high temperature, and aerosol may be the&nbsp;major drivers of meningitis occurrence

Gendered vulnerabilities to climate change and farmers’ adaptation responses in Kwara and Nassarawa States, Nigeria

Abstract This study examines gender vulnerabilities and responsive strategies to climate change, comparing evidences from Kwara and Nassarawa States in Nigeria. Changes in climate parameters, gender-based perceptions of climate, as well as gender-based response and adaptation practices were assessed in accordance with specific research objectives. A total of 200 participants were surveyed through a mixed method approach using 41 years of climate data. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered equally in the two States and 52 in-depth interviews were conducted within male and female farmers that were 40 years and above age using a purposive sampling method. Results from Nassarawa State showed a downward trend in rainfall and an upward trend in both minimum and maximum temperatures. The farmers perceived climate change differently, with observed changes in climate variables: temperature and precipitation, resulting in extreme floods, drought, and rainfall onset and leading to varying adaptation practices. The study concluded that gender plays a significant role in the adoption of adaptation practices in the agricultural sector and that males often have more access to resources and decision-making power in farming as the heads of households. There is a need for better gender-sensitive approaches to adaptation planning and implementation to ensure that both men and women have equal opportunities to benefit from adaptation options in agriculture

When Climate Turns Nasty, What Are Recent and Future Implications? Ecological and Human Health Review of Climate Change Impacts

Purpose of Review: The impacts of climate change on biodiversity in the last three decades have increasingly assumed from significant to threatening proportions and this causes major global concerns. This study aims at examining the recent and future impacts of global climate change on both ecological resources and human well-being. This review study is based on the general concept of ecological resilience: that coping with climate change stresses and disturbances depends on social resilience, political and environmental strategies accessible in a community. The study assessed over 300 peer-reviewed publications, both articles and books, which linked climate change impacts on ecosystems to social/health resilience of people in the specific regions. Publications on that were focused on general impacts of climate change on global ecology, ecosystem distribution shifts and phenology change; the ecological and social/health resilience, in the tropic and polar regions, were reviewed. Recent Findings: The major finding of this study is that there is considerable variation in magnitudes and patterns of responses to climate change in different regions, even with an overall review of scientific studies on the global ecosystem and human health. Despite this, what is obvious is that change in the ecosystem in Polar Regions will continue to have significant impacts on the global environment, flora, fauna and ultimately human well-being. Summary: There are many uncertainties, though, on the possible effects of climate change ecosystem and soils and their severe biological, social, cultural and economic consequences. Notwithstanding these uncertainties, the impacts of climate change on both ecosystem and human socio-cultural activities are very likely to become even more widespread in the near future

Climate change engenders a better Early Warning System development across Sub-Saharan Africa: The malaria case

It is expected that diseases are likely to spread to newer areas, and high-income countries may experience some illnesses that may have been restricted to low or middle-income countries. In addition, following the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the present study noted that climate change is likely to have many effects on the spatial and temporal distribution of malaria in many Sub-Saharan African countries. This study examines climate change effects on the geographical distribution of malaria occurrence and how extreme climatic events may perhaps be determining factors in the range of vectors for human diseases in SSA in the nearest future. Here, the study appraisals the symbiotic connection of (1) malaria transmission and association with the changes in temperature, rainfall, and humidity as well as their extremes in SSA and (2) the relationship between climate and malaria with the role of climate change in determining upsurge in malaria and meningitis occurrences in the SSA. The study concludes that major drivers of malaria occurrence are climatic elements such as precipitation and temperature. Therefore, we call for a better early Warning System on a proposed roadmap solution for Sub-Saharan Africa

Optimal sizing and placement of shunt capacitors on the distribution system using Whale Optimization Algorithm

This paper aims at power loss minimization and reduction of cost due to losses in the distribution network as well as improvement of the network voltage stability and profile via optimal shunt capacitor allocation. The optimal shunt capacitor allocation was obtained using Whale Optimization Algorithm considering technical (real power loss and VSI) and economic objective functions as sub-optimal allocation may result in undesired effects on the network. The obtained optimal sizes of the shunt capacitors were placed on the obtained location of the distribution networks to ascertain the behavior of the networks before and after their placements taking power loss, cost due to losses, and voltage stability index as the performance metrics. A comparison of these performance metrics under four cases, namely base case (case one), installation of one SC (case two), installation of two SCs (case three), and installation of three SCs (case four) were demonstrated using standard IEEE 33-bus and Dada 46-bus distribution networks. The results gave a percentage loss reduction of 33.74% with 27.60% annual net saving for the IEEE 33-bus network and 22.24% loss reduction with 25.60% annual net saving for the Dada 46-bus network. Hence, reduction in the total power losses and costs. Also, the voltage profile and voltage stability index were significantly improved