International Journal of Advanced Engineering and Technology

Authors
Ukhurebor Kingsley Eghonghon

Abstract
The study of the variability in temperature is now of great concern not only because of its influence on global warming; which is now a universal threat to humans and its atmospheric environment but also its cruel effects on agricultural activities. In this study temperature variable of four decades (1978-2017) for Auchi, Edo State, Nigeria was collected from the archive of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) so as to ascertain the temperature variability. The three methods that were used for this study are; statistical differences between two the equal-length time scales of 1978-1997 and 1998-2017 respectively, coefficient of variability (CV) and the anomaly approach. The trend analysis using t-test, Sen’s estimator slope and Mann Kendall were also carried out in order to determine the trend in the temperature variables. The results show that the differences between the two means of the equal-length revealed variability of: 0.50^oC, 0.30^oC and 0.40^oC for maximum, minimum and mean temperatures, respectively. Similarly, the CV of maximum, minimum and mean temperatures were: 0.026, 0.036 and 0.025 respectively indicating low variability. However, the anomaly results revealed that 24 years (60.0%) were warmer than normal; 13 years (32.5%) less warm than normal; while 3 years (7.5%) had normal mean temperature. This study has further revealed that temperature variability is noticeable. Therefore, it is imperative to sensitize the general public about its existence due to its cruel influence on agriculture and other aspects of human endeavors in order to take the necessary measures and adaptation options to alleviating and controlling its effects.