TITLE:
Impact of Concentration Levels of Atmospheric Pollutants on Local Climate of Delta State, Nigeria
AUTHORS:
Ifeanyi Innocent Onwosi, Emmanuel Fartiyahcha Nymphas
KEYWORDS:
Air Pollution, Atmospheric Pollutants, Local Climate, Meteorological Parameters
JOURNAL NAME:
Atmospheric and Climate Sciences,
Vol.12 No.2,
April
12,
2022
ABSTRACT: Studies
in various regions of the world have revealed that air pollution can have a
significant influence on local climate. This study therefore considers the impact of concentration levels of atmospheric pollutants on
local climate of Delta state, Nigeria. Monthly and annual averaging of the
daily pollutant concentrations and meteorological parameters within the period
of investigation was carried out. Descriptive Statistics, correlation analysis,
coefficient of determination (R2) analysis and least squares
regression analysis of the selected meteorological parameters with CH4 and O3 concentrations for the period of 2003 to 2012 and NO2 and CO2 concentrations for the period of 2011 to 2014 were carried
out. The regression relationship was then used to obtain predicted values for
the meteorological parameters within the period of investigation. The results of the descriptive statistics of
annual averages of CH4, O3, NO2 and CO2 concentrations within the period of investigation revealed that the emission levels
breached FEPA and EGASPIN limits. The results of the correlation analysis
indicated that CO2 had a strong significant positive correlation
with temperature with a correlation coefficient of 0.962, while a moderate
negative correlation coefficient of 0.549 was obtained for CH4, and
very weak correlation coefficients of -0.167 and 0.077 were obtained for O3 and NO2 respectively. CH4, O3 and CO2 had a moderately significant positive correlation with solar radiation with
correlation coefficients of 0.661, 0.571 and 0.656 respectively, while a weak
negative correlation coefficient of 0.106 was obtained for NO2. CH4 had a strong significant positive correlation with relative humidity with a
correlation coefficient of 0.859, while moderate correlation coefficients of -0.516 and 0.646 were obtained for NO2 and CO2 respectively, and a weak correlation coefficient of 0.345
was obtained for O3. CO2 and CH4 had a strong
significant correlation with wind speed with correlation coefficients of 0.951
and -0.906
respectively, while a moderate negative correlation coefficient of 0.518 was
obtained for O3, and a weak negative correlation coefficient of
0.317 was obtained for NO2. The predicted values of the
meteorological parameters showed a significant level of agreement with their
measured values. Therefore, among
the atmospheric pollutants postulated as influencing meteorological parameters,
CO2 appears to be the most strongly significant in explaining
temperature variations in this region of Niger Delta, with correlation
coefficient of 96.2% and coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.926, implying that CO2 influenced 92.6% variation in temperature in this part of Niger Delta within
the period of investigation.