Research Article | OPEN ACCESS
The Challenges to Nigerian Raingauge Network Improvement
1B.U. Ngene, 2J.C. Agunwamba, 3B.A. Nwachukwu and 3B.C. Okoro
1Department of Civil Engineering, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State
2Department of Civil Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State
3Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria
Research Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences 2015 4:68-74
Received: June 24, 2015 | Accepted: August 22, 2015 | Published: November 20, 2015
Abstract
This research is geared towards establishing the link between the need for Nigeria rain gauge network improvement and the low efficiency of the current operating system with their various challenges. Nigeria currently has 87 existing and operating rain gauges while it need extra 970 gauges for proper rainfall measurement and achievement of gauge density of 874 km2 per gauge. According to the World Meteorological Organization guideline, the required number of rain gauges to minimize cost and maximize efficiency for temperate Mediterranean and tropical flat area is in the range of 600-900 km2 per gauge. The impact of not increasing Nigeria existing rain gauges is a 10% increase in error of any design based on the current 87 gauges. The flood devastation of the country in September 2012 due to high rainfall and release of flood water from dams are examples of effect of improper planning arising from no or inaccurate records. Equally of great importance is the negative contribution of such error to our economic development as a nation with failure of existing infrastructure being recorded in our roads, rail lines, air ports, water ways and other water resources infrastructures. Finally, it is noteworthy to observe that these largely man-made problems can be overcome with leadership that is alive to its obligation to the society it governs as we face the challenges of globalization and global climate change.
Keywords:
Climate, management, network, optimization, rainfall, River Basin,
Competing interests
The authors have no competing interests.
Open Access Policy
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Copyright
The authors have no competing interests.
|
|
 |
ISSN (Online): 2041-0492
ISSN (Print): 2041-0484 |
 |
| Information |
|
|
|
|
| Sales & Services |
|
|
|
|
