Measurements of Some Meteorological Variables at a Tropical Location in Nigeria

Abstract

This study observed six meteorological variables at a tropical location from 2016 to 2019. The measurement was performed at the meteorological station (7.55 0N; 4.56 0E) of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The variables that were measured are: incoming solar radiation, net radiation, air temperature, surface temperature, relative humidity and wind speed. The results obtained showed that the maximum daytime monthly mean values of the incoming solar radiation (S) and net radiation (Rn) were recorded in March (782.0 and 545.4 Wm-2, respectively), which is the transition month from dry to wet season. The minimum daytime monthly mean values of S and Rn were recorded in August (443.9 and 330.4 Wm-2, respectively) which is the cloudiest month of the year at the study location. The daily air and surface temperatures (Ta and Ts, respectively) varied between 16.4 and 37.8 0C; 17.7 and 49.7 0C, respectively. The daytime maximum values peaked at about 15:00 LT with the maximum monthly mean values recorded in February (36.3 and 47.7 0C, respectively) and the daytime minimum monthly mean values recorded in August (28.9 and 33.3 0C, respectively). The daily values of relative humidity (Rh) ranged between 29 % and 98 % with a mean value of 47 %. The diurnal trend of wind speed (u) recorded at the study location ranged between 0.48 ms-1 to 2.10 ms-1.