Table of contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
1.2 Statement of problem
1.3 Objective of the study
1.4 Research Hypotheses
1.5 Significance of the study
1.6 Scope and limitation of the study
1.7 Definition of terms
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 Research methodology
3.1 sources of data collection
3.3 Population of the study
3.4 Sampling and sampling distribution
3.5 Validation of research instrument
3.6 Method of data analysis
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 Introductions
4.2 Data analysis
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Summary
The harmattan phenomenon and its effect on the environment
Abstract
This study was on the harmattan phenomenon and its effect on the environment. The total population for the study is 200 residents in Ibadan. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up married men, married women, youths and students was used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Chapter one
Introduction
1.1Background of the study
The harmattan season occurs from November to early March in the Gulf of Guinea. It is characterized by a very cold–dry (9°C) and dust-laden wind, blowing northeast and west off the Sahara desert into the Gulf of Guinea, towards the Caribbean and South America. The harmattan season differs from winter because it is characterized by cold–dry wind, heavy dust-laden particles, and wide fluctuations in day and night ambient temperatures (AT). The harmattan wind is considered a natural hazard because during its passage over the desert it picks up fine dust particles and can push large quantities of sand and dust, facilitating the spread of wind-borne diseases for thousands of kilometers. The Harmattan season usually occurs between the end of November and mid March. Over the period, dry dusty northeasterly trade winds blow from the Sahara desert over the West African subregion to the Atlantic Ocean. As the wind passes over the desert, it collects fine dust particles (0.5–10 μm) and causes low temperatures
Meteorologically, the harmattan affects areas with latitudes north of the latitudinal position of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which separates the Saharan dust laden northeast winds from the southwest monsoon winds. The harmattan phenomenon is important to governments and scientists because of its effect on ambient air, forest canopy, global circulations, the industry, homes and offices, equipment design and performance, signal transmission, crops and plants, water surfaces, the human body, transportation and horizontal visibility (Sunnu, 2006).
The impact of harmattan on climate has been observed primarily on their effects on the radiation budget of the Earth’s atmospheric system (EAS). This singular impact on the EAS has sparked off a multiplier effect, especially on the agricultural and health sectors. Harmattan dust haze is a phenomenon that occurs when fine opalescence dust particles are lifted and laid in suspension in the air for weeks or even months by winds of low velocity (Umoh, 1992). These tropospheric aerosols are of central importance to climate, and public health. The airborne solid and liquid particles in the nanometer to micrometer size range influence the energy balance of the Earth, the hydrological cycle, atmospheric circulation and the abundance of greenhouse and reactive trace gases (Poschel, 2005). The harmattan is known to cause widespread damage to infrastructure, disrupt flights, reduce rainfall, and affect crop outputs (e.g., Adefolalu (1984); Adetunji et al. (1979)). It has even been associated with outbreaks of meningitis (Besancenot et al., 1997).
Statement of the problem
The year is marked by changes in the weather, ecology, and amount of daylight, and these changes result from earth’s orbit around the sun and earth’s axial tilt relative to the ecliptic plane. In the temperate and subpolar region of the earth, there are four seasons in a year; spring, summer, autumn, and winter. In tropical and subtropical regions which Nigeria is one of them, there are two seasons; the rainy (wet or monsoon) season and the dry season (Harmattan); the Harmattan dust constitutes haze, largely from the anthropogenic source of the particulate matter. The study is to find out the effect of harmattan on environment
Objective of the study
The objectives of the study are;
- To find the effect of harmattan on human health
- To find out the effect of harmattan on agriculture
- To determination of the frequency and density of dust deposited
Research hypotheses
The following are the hypotheses of the study and are presented in the null and alternative forms;
Hypothesis One
HO: there is no effect of harmattan on human health.
HI: there is effect of harmattan on human health.
Hypothesis Two
HO: there is no effect of harmattan on agriculture.
HI: there is effect of harmattan on agriculture.
Significance of the study
Considering the study, the work will give more insight on the harmattan phenomenon and its effect on the environment. The study will give more input on the effect of harmattan on the environment. The study will also serve as a reference to other researcher that will embark on the related topic
Scope and limitation of the study
The scope of the study covers the harmattan phenomenon and its effect on the environment. . The researcher encounters some constrain which limited the scope of the study;
- a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study
- b) TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
Definition of terms
Hamarttan: The Harmattan is a season in West Africa, which occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by the dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara Desert over West Africa into the Gulf of Guinea
Environment: the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates.
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