THERMAL DISCOMFORT AND ADAPTATION STRATEGIES AMONG THE RESIDENTS OF KANO MUNICIPAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KANO STATE, NIGERIA
THERMAL DISCOMFORT AND ADAPTATION STRATEGIES AMONG THE RESIDENTS OF KANO MUNICIPAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KANO STATE, NIGERIA
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Date
2018-01
Authors
SHEHU, Aminu
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Abstract
The purpose of this study is to analyze the residents‘ perception and adaptation strategies to
thermal discomfort in Kano Municipal LGA. The work was conducted in Kano Municipal
Local Government Area, during the (hottest) month of April, 2015 between 1200 to 1600
hours on each study day. Digital Thermo-Anemometer, whirling wet- and dry-bulb
Thermometer as well as semi-structured questionnaires were simultaneously used as research
instruments. Three hundred and eighty four respondents were selected from the six sampled
political wards of the area using purposive sampling out of which 363 responded positively.
The data were analyzed using table of frequency and regression analysis. The result has
shown that months of April, May, and June have the highest THI greater than 30oC; while
January and December recorded the lowest THI of less than 25oC. The result also revealed
that 51% of the people living in the area rated climate as the most key factor for their
discomfort and preference while only 7.4% disagreed. The findings revealed that the Rsquared
value as 48.2% indicating that there was a fair relationship among the independent
variables (thermal perception and thermal Adaptation) on the dependent variable (thermal
humidity index). The F-value (index of reliability) is significant at P‹ 0.000. This implies that
the effects of thermal humidity index is significant on the perception and adaptation. The
study concludes that respondents in Kano Municipal L.G.A. have a high heat tolerance, since
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they accept the thermal conditions which exceed the ASHRAE standard. The study
recommended among other things for Kano Municipal Authority to make improvements, in
the area of pursuant of ‗climate sensitive‘ urban design, establishment of more green areas
and to publicize enlightenment to residents on the issue of thermal discomfort problems.
Description
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF SCIENCE (M.Sc.) DEGREE IN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, FACULTY OF PHYSICAL SCIENCES, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA, NIGERIA
Keywords
THERMAL DISCOMFORT,, ADAPTATION STRATEGIES,, RESIDENTS,, KANO MUNICIPAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA,, KANO STATE,, NIGERIA,