Urban Warming in Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined urban effects on the temperature of Benin City. The data used for this study were generated from archives of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency Benin City and the Agrometeorological Station of NIFOR, and mobile transverse method of collecting temperature data at different land use types in the urban canopy for one year. Paired t-test and analysis of variance were used to determine the differences in temperature in the area. The findings revealed an urban bias of 4.4°C, and variation of 5.5°C in temperature within the urban canopy, which confirmed the concept of urban heat island. It also showed an urban-rural temperature differential of 0.5°C, which indicated an urban warming of 2% over its rural areas. Daily temperature revealed that the working days are warmer than the weekends. High rate of anthropogenic activities, which act as drivers of heat island in the urban area accounted for the increase in temperature. The study therefore recommends urban planning with green city-green roof approach.

Share and Cite:

Efe, S. and Eyefia, O. (2014) Urban Warming in Benin City, Nigeria. Atmospheric and Climate Sciences, 4, 241-252. doi: 10.4236/acs.2014.42027.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] Oke, T.R. (1979) Review of Urban Climatology 1973-1979. World Meteorological Organization Technical Note: No. 169, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, 100.
[2] Oke, T.R. (1990) Bibliography of Urban Climate 1981-1988. WCAP-15, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva.
[3] Efe, S.I. (2002) Urban Warming in Nigeria Cities: The Cases of Warri Metropolis. African Journal of Environmental Studies, 2, 16-168.
[4] Oguntoyinbo, J.S. (1981) Aspect of Urban Microclimate. The Case of Ibadan. In: Sada, P.O. and Oguntoyinbo, J.S., Eds., Urbanization Processes and Problem in Nigeria, Ibadan University Press, Ibadan, 137-139.
[5] Adebayo, Y.R. (1985) The Microclimate Characteristics within the Urban Canopy of Ibadan. Ph.D Thesis, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
[6] Botkin, D.B. and Keller, E.A. (1998) Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Plant. John Wiley and Sons Inc., New York, 444-465.
[7] Figuerola, P.I. and Mazzeo, N.A. (1998) Urban-Rural Temperature Differences in Buenos Aires. International Journal of Climatology, 18, 1709-1723. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0088 (199812)18:15<1709::AID-JOC338>3.0.CO;2-I
[8] Dettwiller, J. (1970) Evolution Seculaire du Climate de Paris. (Influence de l’urbansime). Memoirs of the Meteorological National of Paris, 52, 83.
[9] Hanal, G., Weidert, D. and Busen, R. (1990) Absorption of Solar Radiation in an Urban Atmosphere. Atmospheric Environment, 24, 83-292.
[10] Lee, D.O. (1992) Urban Warming? An Analysis of Recent Trends in London’s Heat Island. Weather, 47, 50-56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/j.1477-8696.1992.tb05773.x
[11] López Gómez, A., Fernández, F., Arroyo, F., Martín-Vide, J. and Cuadrat, J.M. (1993) El clima de lasciudadesespaolas. Cátedra, Madrid, 1993, 268.
[12] Moreno-Garcia, M.C. (1994) Intensity and Form of the Urban Heat Island in Barcelona. International Journal of Climatology, 14, 705-710. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.3370140609
[13] Changnon, S.A. (1968) The LaPorte Weather Anomaly—Fact or Fiction? Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 49, 4-11.
[14] Heino, R. (1980) Urban Effect on Climatic Elements in Finland. Report 7, Department of Meteorology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 172-188. http://www.geophysica.fi/pdf/geophysica_1978_15_2_ 171_heino.pdf
[15] METROMEX (1981) A review and Summary. Lancaster Press, Lancaster.
[16] Alonso, M.S., Labajo, J.L. and Fidalgo, M.R. (2003) Characteristics of the Urban Heat Island in the City of Salamanca, Spain. Atmósfera, 61, 37-148.
[17] Crawshaw, J.A. and Beggs, P.J. (2003) Impacts of Urbanizations on Rainfall in Sydney, Australia. http://www.geo.uni.lodz.pl/~icuc5/text/O_17_1.pdf
[18] West, J.W. (2003) Effect of Heat Stress on Production of Dairy Cattle. Journal of Dairy Science, 86, 2131-2144.
[19] Samuels, R. (2006) Inadvertent Urban-Climate, Emitters. Internal-Combustion Engines and Air-Conditioners. Ecocity, 6, l-9.
[20] Adebayo, Y.R. (1990) Aspect of the Variation in Some Characteristics of Radiation Budget within the Urban Canopy of Ibadan. Atmospheric Environment, 24, 9-17.
[21] Adebayo, Y.R. (1991) Heat Island in a Humid Tropical City and Its Relationship with Potential Evaporation. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 43, 137-147. http://dx.doi.org/10. 1007/BF00867471
[22] Ayoade, J.O. (1993) Urban Climate Studies in Tropical Africa: Problems and Prospects. The First International Conference of the African Meteorological Society, Nairobi, 8-12 February 1993, 7-11.
[23] Oluwande, P.O. (1979) Automobile Exhaust Problem in Nigeria. Ambio, 8, 26-29.
[24] Landsberg, H.E. (1981) City Climate. In World Survey of Climate, General Climatology 3, Amsterdam, New York, Oxford, 299-344.
[25] Efe, S.I. (2001) Urban Effects on Temperature in the Warri Metropolitan Area. Urban and Regional Affairs, 5, 31-34.
[26] Ojo, S.O. (1980) Radiation and Temperature Traverses over Lagos Island. Nigerian Geographical Journal, 23, 38-44.
[27] Oguntoyinbo, J.S. (1970) Reflection Coefficient of Natural Vegetation, Crop and Urban Surfaces in Nigeria. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 96, 430-441.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/qj.49709640907
[28] Omogbai, B.E. (1985) Aspects of Urban Climate of Benin City. M.Sc. Dissertation, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
[29] Efe, S.I. (2002) Aspect of Indoor Microclimates Characteristics in Nigeria Cities: The Warri Experience. Environmental Analar, 8, 906-916.
[30] Efe, S.I. (2006) Climate Characteristics in Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria. In: Akinbode, A. and Ugbomeh, B.A., Eds., Abraka Region, Central Books Ltd., Agbor, 6-15.
[31] Omere, O.O. (2001) Aspect of Urban Climate: A Case Study of Benin City. B.Sc Dissertation, Department of Geography and Regional Planning, Delta State University, Abraka.
[32] Lowry, W.P. and Probald, F. (1978) An Attempt to Detect the Effect of a Steelwork on Precipitation Amounts in Central Hungary. Journal of Applied Meteorology, 17, 964-975.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(1978)017<0964:AATDTE>2.0.CO;2
[33] Efe, S.I. (2013) Urban Effects on Precipitation and Rainwater Quality in Warri, Nigeria. Lambert Academic Publishing, Saarbrucken.
[34] Adelekan, I.O. (2005) Urban Climate Research in Nigeria. http://testbed.fmi.fi/Misc/IAUC013.pdf
[35] Livingstone, K. (2006) London’s Urban Heat Island: A Summary for Decision Makers. Published by Greater London Authority, City Hall, London.
[36] Oke, T.R. (1982) Bibliography of Urban Climate 1977-1980. WCAP 15, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva.
[37] Fuchs, D. (2005) Spain Goes Hi-Teach to Beat Drought. The Guardian Published Online. www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/june/28/spain/wather
[38] Ayoade, J.O. (2008) Techniques in Climatology. Stirling-Horden Publishers Ltd., Ibadan.
[39] Oke, T.R. (1973) City Size and the Urban Heat Island. Atmospheric Environment, l7, 769-779.
[40] Santamouris, M., Mihalakakou, G., Papanikolaou, N. and Asinmakopoulou, D.N. (1999) A Neural Network Approach for Modelling the Heat Island Phenomenon in Urban Areas during the Summer Period. Geophysical Research Letters, 26, 337-340. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/1998GL900316
[41] Santamouris, M. (2001) Energy and Climate in the Built Environment. James & James, London.
[42] Peterson, T.C. (2003) Assessment of Urban versus Rural in Situ Surface Temperatures in the Contiguous United States: No Difference Found. Journal of Climate, 16, 2941-2959.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(2003)016<2941:AOUVRI>2.0.CO;2
[43] Toro, S.J., Morris, C.J.G., Skinner, C. and Plummer, N. (2001) Urban Heat Island Features of Southeast Australian Towns. Australian Meterorological Magazine, 50, 1-13.
[44] Karl, T.R., Diaz, H.F. and Kukla, G. (1988) Urbanization: Its Detection and Effect in the United States. Journal of Climate, 1, 1009-1123.
[45] Oguntoyinbo, J.S.C. (1973) Aspects of Urban Micro-Climate: The Case Study of Ibadan. In: Sada, P.O. and Oguntoyinbo, J.S., Eds., Urbanization Processes and Problems in Nigeria, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, 131-140.
[46] Ojo, S.O. (1981) Land Use Energy Balance Relationship and the Planning Implications in Metropolitan Lagos. Occasional Paper No.1, Department of Geography, University of Lagos, Lagos.
[47] Ayoade, J.O. (1993) Introduction to Climatology for the Tropics. Reprint, Spectrum Books Limited, Ibadan.
[48] Blueman, A.G. (1995) Elementary Statistics. A Step by Step Approach. Brown Publisher WCB, Chicago.
[49] IPCC (2007) Summary of Policy Makers. In: Solomon, S., Qin, D., Manning, M., et al., Eds., Climate Change 2007: The Physical Sciences Basis. Contribution of Working Group 1 to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
[50] Berry, P. (2008) Vulnerabilities, Adaptation, and Adaptive Capacity. In: Seguin, J., Ed., Human Health in a Changing Climate: A Canadian Assessment of Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Capacity, Health Canada, Ottawa, 419-423.

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.