An Assessment of Occurrences of Thunderstorm as an Indicator of Climate Change : A Case Study of Potiskum and its Environs, Yobe State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines the occurrences of thunderstorm and rainfall as indicator of climate change in Potiskum and its environs through exploring the decadal recorded data of rainfall and thunderstorm. The data obtained were used to analyze the changes and activities of thunderstorms with rainfall, and thunderstorms without rainfall for each month of the 30 years under study. A descriptive and Inferential statistics was employed to determine the frequency and trend of thunderstorm activities as well as the intensity of rainfall. The analysis indicated that there was decrease in thunderstorm occurrences from first decade (1987 - 1996), second (1997 - 2006) to third decade (2007 - 2016). The results also showed that there was an increase of rainfall intensity in the third decade and decrease in second decade. The results further indicated that there was a climatic change in thunderstorm and rainfall activities in Potiskum and its environs during the study period, and this serves as good indicator of climate change in the study area. Therefore, it is recommended that Nigeria should develop capacity for research and data collection, to monitor climate change impacts, formulate and implement policies to protect natural resources, including forests, and conserve energy based on clean and low carbon technologies.