A Geo-Locational Analysis of Drought Severity/Magnitude in the Savana Region of Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the relationship between drought severity/magnitude and geographical parameters of Latitude, Longitude and Mean Annual Rainfall (MAR) of 50 locations in the Savannah region of Nigeria. Secondary data on rainfall for all stations was obtained from the headquarters of Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMets), Abuja. The research made use of the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) technique to established drought severity/magnitude for all locations. It further employed the use of Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis to test relationship between the SPI values generated with geographical parameters of Longitude. Latitude and Mean Annual Rainfall (MAR). Results obtained shows that latitude exerts a strong but negative relationship on MAR and SPI values. That is, an increase in latitude will lead to a decrease in MAR and SPI values with a correlation coefficient of (r= -0.787 and -0.805) respectively. Findings further revealed that a strong positive relationship existed between MAR and SPI values with r = 0.964. All relationships were significant at the 99% confidence level. The research therefore concludes that on the overall, drought magnitude generally increases with increasing latitude