IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON SURFACE WATER RESOURCES IN KADUNA RIVER BASIN, NIGERIA

Abstract

Climate change impact on surface water resources of Kaduna River basin (KRB) were investigated from 1984 to 2021. To achieve the aim, the study set out the following objectives: assess the spatial distribution of water balance and assess the hydrological characterization of Kaduna River basin. The meteorological data for the study were sourced from twelve remotely sensed stations around Kaduna State for 37 years, from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Thornthwaite and Mather (TM)Model, runoff coefficient, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and correlation were used to discern the pattern and distribution of climatic elements and testing hypothesis considered in the study. The result indicated that: Rainfall intensities interpolated revealed an increasing length of return periods for all the stations. The temporal differences between P-PET have shown a similar pattern in the State, whereby there was an increase from May to October which indicates a positive value that reveals excess water because of the rainy season while November to April indicate negative values because of the dry season which implies water deficit. Only the month of March in Kaduna Central Catchment Area has a positive value of 77.72mm in the dry months. There was fluctuation of water bodies throughout the period under study and is attributable to increase in population and anthropogenic activities that has resulted in climate variability instead of climate change. The work recommends an awareness programme on climate variation challenges in various States and regions of Nigeria.