Vehicular Carbon Emissions Concentration Levelin Minna, Nigeria: The Environmental Cum Climate
Change Implication
WORKING PAPER SERIES No. 71

ATPS (2013): Vehicular Carbon Emissions Concentration Level in Minna, Nigeria:
The Environmental Cum Climate Change Implication. ATPS Working Paper No. 71

1

ATPS (2013): Vehicular Carbon Emissions Concentration Level in Minna, Nigeria:
The Environmental Cum Climate Change Implication. ATPS Working Paper No. 71

2Vehicular Carbon Emissions Concentration
Level in Minna, Nigeria: The Environmental
Cum Climate Change Implication

Okelola Olumayokun Francis
Geography Department,
Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger state, Nigeria.
Appollonia Okhimamhe
Climatology and Remote Sensing
Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger state, Nigeria	
  ATPS (2013): Vehicular Carbon Emissions Concentration Level in Minna, Nigeria:
The Environmental Cum Climate Change Implication. ATPS Working Paper No. 71

3This paper should be cited as:
African Technology Policy Studies Network, ATPS 2013: Vehicular Carbon Emissions
Concentration Level in Minna, Nigeria the Environmental Cum Climate Change Implication[Okelola Olumayokun Francis, Okhimamhe Apollonia], ATPS WORKING PAPER No. 71© 2013Published by the African Technology Policy Studies Network

ISBN: 978-9966-030-58-0

ATPS (2013): Vehicular Carbon Emissions Concentration Level in Minna, Nigeria:
The Environmental Cum Climate Change Implication. ATPS Working Paper No. 71

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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements						

6Abstract								

71. Introduction							

82. Literature Review						

123. Methodology							

164. Results and Analysis						

175. Conclusion and Recommendations				19		

References							

20ATPS (2013): Vehicular Carbon Emissions Concentration Level in Minna, Nigeria:
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Acknowledgement
This report was produced as part of the implementation of the African Technology Policy
Studies Network (ATPS) Phase VI Strategic Plan, 2008 – 2012 funded by ATPS Donors
including theMinisterie van Buitenlandse Zaken (DGIS) the Netherlands and the Rockefeller
Foundation. The authors hereby thank the ATPS for the financial and technical support during
the implementation of the program. The Authors specially thank Prof. Kevin Chika Urama,
the ATPS Executive Director for his visionary leadership as Program Director; Prof. Atieno
Ndede-Amadi, Program Coordinator; Dr. Nicholas Ozor, Senior Research Officer, ATPS;
Mr. Ernest Nti Acheampong, ATPS Research Officer and the ATPS Team for the technicalsupport during the research process.

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Abstract
This paper examines the trend of level of vehicular carbon footprints emissions in Minna,
Niger State, Nigeria. It provides an insight into the obtainable emission levels in the selectedflashpoints for the study. These flashpoints are spread across the city of Minna’s road
network. The measurements were achieved using gasman meters for each type of gas
investigated in this study namely: carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur
dioxide (SO2), ammonia (NH3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), chlorine (Cl2) and hydrogen sulphide(H2S). The measurements were carried out at the peak and off peak traffic times within
the city due to temporal variations. The average emission values for the peak and off-peaktimes were calculated and also represented with the Arc-GIS software. The complete data
have also been computed and analysed using the SPSS software. The results establishedthat emissions’ level of carbon dioxide from vehicular emissions in particular exceeded theinternationally accepted safe limits of 350 parts per million in the atmosphere. Upon thecompletion of this research, necessary measures for climate change mitigation via emissions
reduction would be documented for effective and efficient urban and regional planning.

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1. Introduction
Vehicular pollution is defined as pollution caused by vehicles which comprises of exhaust(pollution) released into the air (environment) from a vehicle (car, truck, bus). The large
minority of today’s cars and heavy duty vehicles use internal combustion engines that burnpetrol or other fossil fuels such as diesel. The process of burning petrol to power cars andheavy duty vehicles contributes to air pollution by releasing a variety of emissions into theatmosphere.
Vehicular emissions constitute a threat, both to the environment and global health in terms ofclimate change and air pollution respectively. According to the United Nations Environment
Program (UNEP), over 600 million people are exposed annually to vehicular pollutants(Cacciola et al; 2002, UN, 1989). Pollutants released into the atmosphere from vehicles
include carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides(NOx), particulate matter (particles of smoke, soot, and dust), hydrocarbons and lead (Corbitt,
1999). (National Research Council, 2010) published that carbon emissions from vehicles area major source of atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs). In addition, the average emission
per vehicle differs from one automobile to another as seen from Figure 1 is that emissions’rate of vehicles is proportional to the size of the vehicle type. The rate of emissions of (CO2)increases with the vehicle type size.

Figure 1: Average CO2 Emissions Rates by Vehicle Type
(Source: World Resource Institute 2003)

	
  Climate change is considered to be one of the greatest environmental threats and development
challenges facing the world today. When petrol, diesel or certain alternative fuels are burnt
for energy in an engine, the main by-products are water and carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2,
although not directly harmful to human health, is the most significant of the greenhouse gases(GHGs) contributing to climate change. The actions of individuals, companies and nations as
a whole, are all generating carbon emissions, which are unequivocally linked to the climatechange phenomenon the planet is facing. In the USA alone, driven vehicles release over 1.7
billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year, contributing to global climate change(Walker, 2012). The nature of the air pollution problem relating to vehicles is dictated not justby the volume of traffic but, also by the prevailing weather conditions (Holman, 1999).
ATPS (2013): Vehicular Carbon Emissions Concentration Level in Minna, Nigeria:
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8The USA is among the highly industrialized countries of the world with the highest vehicle
ownership per capita in the world with 769 vehicles in operation per 1000 people. The USA
therefore, has one of the highest levels of carbon dioxide emission from vehicles. Increase in
vehicles therefore results in more carbon dioxide emissions, hence more global warming or
climate change impacts. Although, more emission takes places in regions of industrialized andricher countries of the world, the climate change impacts are felt globally. Unfortunately, poor
countries with minimal emissions have been observed to be more vulnerable to losses fromthe climate change impacts of the emissions that did not emanate from these poor countries.
Carbon dioxide emission impacts on the climate of the environment are therefore not restricted
to where it is being emitted but the effect is global (U.S. Global Change Research Program,2005). However, other associated gasses with vehicular emissions as being investigatedin this study have negative impacts such as pollution and human health hazards. In highconcentration, CO2 causes an increase in the breathing rate, unconsciousness, and evendeath in man (EHC, 2003).
1.2 Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and the Vehicular Carbon Footprints Concept
The term “carbon footprint” refers to the amount of carbon (CO2) emitted as result of activities.
Carbon dioxide, CO2 is produced from many sources and it is the primary gas responsible for
global warming and the resulting alarming changes in our climate. Nearly everything we doin our modern society requires energy. This energy is generated primarily by burning fossil
fuels carbon.
In the context of vehicular carbon footprints refer to various amounts of the concentration levelof emissions of vehicular emissions. These emissions are the end product of combustion offossil fuel (Carbon) in vehicles. They constitute exhaust gases detected and sampled from
Minna roads in Nigeria. The gases of interest in this study are mostly vehicular emissions
associated with greenhouse gases the raw form of the energy usage from fossil fuels is in
the form of carbon. The footprints are the end impact as evidently detected and measured inparts per million. The first step to taking effective action is to reduce the carbon footprint on
the planet. Hydrocarbons and nitrogen dioxide emitted principally from automobiles are themajor ingredients of photochemical smog (Enemari, 2001). This phenomenon has become
noticeable at very busy junctions in Minna during peak traffic hours which are usually between(8 to 10) a.m and (4 to 6) p.m daily.
1.3 The 350 Parts per Million Safe Limits target
There is now scientific evidence that, carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the atmosphere
increased from approximately 280 parts per million (ppm) in pre-industrial times to 382
ppm in 2006, a 36 percent increase. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s (NOAA) Earth Systems Research Laboratory, almost all of the increase isdue to human activities (IPCC, 2007). The current rate of increase in CO2 concentrations isabout 1.9 ppm volume per year. Present CO2 concentrations are higher than any time in atleast the last 650,000 years (IPCC, 2007). Figure 2 shows the history of atmospheric carbon
dioxide concentrations as directly measured at Mauna Loa, Hawaii. This curve is known
as the Keeling curve, and is an essential piece of evidence of the man-made increases ingreenhouse gases that is believed to be the cause of global warming.
Hansen et al (2006) noted that, 350 parts per million is the safe upper limit of carbon dioxidein the atmosphere, above which the planet is in a state of climate crisis. To preserve ourplanet, scientists tell us we must reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere from its current
level of 392 parts per million to below 350 ppm. The target posed by leading NASA climate
scientist James Hansen of stabilizing atmospheric carbon dioxide at 350 parts per million(ppm) is increasingly understood in conjunction with the need to keep cumulative emissions
within a tight global “budget”. From a CO2 concentration at the time of 385 ppm, Hansen
argued, the level needed to be cut to 350 ppm at most.
ATPS (2013): Vehicular Carbon Emissions Concentration Level in Minna, Nigeria:
The Environmental Cum Climate Change Implication. ATPS Working Paper No. 71

9Figure 2 Atmospheric Carbon dioxide measured at Mauna Loa, Hawaii(Source: 350.org, 2011)	  Table 1 lists the vehicular emission constituent gases investigated in this study and theirinternationally acceptable safe limits above which exposures to them become toxic to man
and needed to reduce global warming in the case of carbon dioxide.
Table 1: Surveyed Gases and their internationally accepted safe limits
Gases

Safe Limits

NH3

50 ppmCO

50 ppm

SO2

5 ppm

NO2

5 ppm

CO2

350 ppm

H 2S

10 ppmCl2

0.08 ppm

1.4 Problem statement
Presently, not much is known about the climate change implications of vehicular emissions
from the road transportation system of Minna, the capital of Niger State, Nigeria especiallythe levels of deviation of the carbon dioxide from the internationally accepted safe limit of 350
parts per million. Also, not much is known about the emission level of other constituent gasesof vehicular emission from the road transportation system in Minna. Whereas, constituent
gases of vehicular emission poses grievous health risk at certain high dangerous concentrationlevels of exposure to them. Cumulative exposure of humans to them at lower concentrationlevels can also pose grievous health risk. These constituent gases include: carbon monoxide(CO), sulphur dioxide (SO2), ammonia (NH3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), chlorine (Cl2), hydrogensulphide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2), include. Much more, beyond the health risk that
exposure to carbon dioxide may cause, carbon dioxide emission as a principal green housegas is critical to the global climate change effect and this need to be properly studied.

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1.5 Objectives
The principal research objectives of the study are to:
1. Assess the level of carbon dioxide and other green house gases carbon footprint
equivalents concentrations emanating from vehicles emissions in the transport sectorof Minna.
2. Provide data on air pollution and use the research result to create public enlightenment
together with the government on the hazards of vehicular emissions, particularly Carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gases Carbon footprints equivalent values in Minna, thestate capital of Niger State.
3. Provide useful information for both transportation and urban planning development.
4. Propose pertinent STI policy recommendations for the mitigation of vehicular emission in
Minna towards a sustainable environment

ATPS (2013): Vehicular Carbon Emissions Concentration Level in Minna, Nigeria:
The Environmental Cum Climate Change Implication. ATPS Working Paper No. 71

112. Literature Review
2.1 Trends in Vehicular Carbon Emission Concentration in Nigeria
Given the fact that, there are more vehicles in Nigeria today, in comparison to the past, it
would be safe to deduce that the trend in vehicular emissions in the country seem to be on
the increase. The following factors may be used in justifying this observation:
2.2 Steady Increase in the Use of Road Transportation
The mode of transportation in Nigeria is largely by road and air, with water transport in the
coastal areas. The fleet of road vehicles has steadily increased since independence in 1960.
A study by Balogun and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) (2008) indicates that from1988 to 2008, all fleets of licensed vehicles increased from 580,997 to 944,619 (See Figure
3).

Figure 3: Vehicle Registration in Nigeria: 1988-2008 Source: Balogun and FRSC (2008)

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The road transport induced environmental pollution in Niger State, is further compoundedby recent influx of motorcycles and tricycles, most of which have 2-stroke highly polluting
engines. The effect of all these is increased emissions particularly with the prevalence of
second-hand vehicles as old as 20 years being imported to this country. With the pegging
of the age of second-hand vehicle to 5 years for importation, to this country, we could havea sizeable reduction of emission. However, the enforcement and compliance with this law isweak as obtainable in other related sectors in Nigeria.
Table 2 Vehicle Registration in Niger State: 2004-2007
Type of Vehicle

2004

2005

2006

2007

Total

Saloon cars

1,868

2,210

2,340

2,600

9,018

Buses

1,468

1,746

1,987

1,727

6,928

Lorry/Trailers

214

302

337

520

1,373

Other Vehicles

-

-

-

-

Motorcycle

2,126

2,472

2,556

3,216

10,370

Total

5,676

6,730

7,220

8,063

27,689(Source: National Bureau of Statistics 2009).

2.2.1 Poor Maintenance Culture of Vehicles and its Effect on Emission
Maintenance is crucial to efficient vehicle performance. A well-tuned vehicle is fuel-efficientand generates minimal emission (Enemari, 2001). But a sizeable number of the mechanics
we have are poorly trained. They are largely ignorant of what needs to be done. Also, many
drivers exhibit poor driving habits such as over speeding. The result is that, most vehicles are
performing below manufacturer’s technical standard, consuming excessive fuel and emitting
excessive gases and particulate matter.
2.3 Recent Studies on Vehicular Emissions in Nigeria
Minna
A study conducted by Ndoke and Jimoh (2007) in Minna - which coincides with our study area to identify the effect of traffic emission on the city on an average day revealed that CO and CO2
concentration were a little below the limit stipulated by the Federal Environment Protection
Agency. There is however, a strong possibility that the situation might have worsened dueto the increase in vehicle ownership in the city, particularly the popular “tokunbo” vehicles
or used vehicles (with highly-inefficient combustion engines) and the ubiquitous nature ofcommercial motor-cycles (“okada”). Furthermore, their study objectives did not include theimplications of CO2 emission level on global warming.
Kaduna and Abuja
Ndoke et al (2006) in a study carried out in Kaduna and Abuja found that districts withheavy traffic congestion reveal a higher concentration of CO2 .The authors noted that there
was remarkable evidence linking higher atmospheric carbon concentrations to more traffic
congested regions like A.Y.A. junction and Mabushi round about in Abuja and also, Stadiumround about, Sabo and Kasuwa which are in Kaduna (Figure 4).

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Figure 4: Average Hourly Concentration of CO2 in Ten Stations in Abuja and Kaduna
Note: * Sampling stations in Kaduna; **Sampling stations in Abuja
Source: Ndoke et al (2006).

The threat of climate change has increased interest in climate research, which focuses on
observing, understanding and modelling the five interconnected components that comprises
the climate system: atmosphere, oceans, land surface, cryosphere, and biosphere.
Feedbacks at variety of spatial and temporal scales shape the system’s overall behavior,and the carbon cycle plays a critical role in this respect.
2.4 Climate change assessment of Minna
Buba (2009) studied the variations in rainfall and temperature patterns in Minna and the Northusing 1916 to 2000 and 1941 to 2000 data sets. These data sets enabled the researcher
to observe successive climatologically ‘normal’ periods in accordance with the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO) standard period of 1961-1990. Descriptive statistics ofthe long-term mean monthly values of minimum temperature, maximum temperature, mean
temperature and rainfall as well as annual mean temperature and rainfall were therefore
computed for Minna. Subsequently, the standard deviation (a measure of dispersion) andcoefficient of variation (measure of variability) were computed of mean temperature andrainfall for each year enabling temperature and rainfall anomalies to be expressed as
departure from the long-term mean. Correlation coefficients were also calculated to determine
the existence of relationships between years and the two climatic elements considered by
the investigation. Inter-annual rainfall was analyzed based on standardized annual rainfall
time series for each year and downward trends were observed. The 1940s to 1960s arecharacterized by negative anomalies (i.e. decrease in rainfall). Buba (2009) also found thatthe 1980s are marked by positive anomalies (i.e. increase in rainfall) across the entire region
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including Minna. Further, the last decade (1990s) has been marked by significant positive
anomalies. The temperature anomalies are measures that describe temperature behaviour
as being normal, above or below normal. Mean annual temperature anomaly time series
reveals a shift in trend; the temperatures show an increase (significant at the 95% confidence
level). Generally, climatic warming seemed to have begun in the 1970s within the region. This
downward trend is in agreement with the findings of other researchers’ findings (Folland etal., 1986; Fontaine et al., 1995). They are, however, characterized by irregular variations inboth time and space. The downward trends were observed to have started from the 1970s
which is also consistent with earlier findings (Tarhule and Woo, 1998; Nicholson, 2001).
Furthermore, Wang and Eltahir (2002) used models to predict increases in rainfall as CO2
levels rise. They found that, an increase of CO2 concentration causes the regional biosphereatmosphere system to become wetter and greener, with the irradiative effect of CO2 andimproved plant water relation dominant in the Sahelian grassland region and the directenhancement of leaf carbon assimilation dominant in the tree covered region to the south.
However, recent research conducted by Held et al (2005), using new global climate model,
both simulates the 20th century drought years and predicts a significantly drier Sahel guinea
savannah where Minna is located by the end of the 21st century, due primarily to greenhousegases. Nonetheless, similar studies in Minna have not examined the emissions of automobiles
in relation to the global warming sensitivity safe limits of the emissions especially for carbon
dioxide, the major greenhouse gas and a major effluent from vehicular emissions from roadtransportation in Minna. Thus, this is a major gap being filled by this study.

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3. Methodology
The procedures adopted are as follows:
1. Sampling site selections within Minna metropolis for readings in Parts per Million ofvehicular carbon footprints emissions with temporal considerations such as the peak andoff-peak periods of vehicular transportation movement and with the level of emissions.
Average traffic counts and the road map network of Minna were considered in doing thiscomponent of the study.
2. Using hand held Global Positioning System (GPS) to obtain the spatial attributes(Longitudes and Latitudes) of the selected sites, and measuring the amount of thevehicular carbon footprints in the sites with temporal consideration.
3. Digitizing the topographic map of Minna and overlaying it on a satellite image of the city.
4. Developing a database of the selected sites containing both spatial and attribute data as
it relates to the rate of vehicular carbon footprints emission.
5. Carrying out statistical tests on the temporal vehicular carbon footprints emission todetermine the carbonated compound with greatest effect as it relates to environmental
pollution as well as contributing to climate change. Statistical correlation determines therelationship existing between variables. For perfect correlation between variables, theR value should be 1. This means all values for the relationship between variables tends
to 1. The closer the correlation coefficients to 1, the stronger the relationship between
the variables. Negative correlation coefficient means the variables are not correlated i.e.
there is no relationship. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software wasused to compute the correlation between the traffic volume and the measured gaseousemission values using Pearson Correlation 2- tailed test at 0.01 significant levels

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4. Results and Analysis
The peak emissions measurements at various junctions (sampling stations) from thepreliminary field work data are shows in Table 3.
Table 3: Average mean peaks vehicular carbon footprints gases concentration levels
measured in parts per Million (PPM) during the peak traffic period
EASTINGSNORTHINGSLOCATIONS

CO

H 2S

NO2

CL2

SO2

NH3

CO2

2307691064155

CentralMosqueJunction

8.83

0.002480.00258

0.167

0.006322.50

2823.33

2292851063800

Engr. A.A
Modern Market Gate

8.00

0.00275

0.003130.167

0.003152.67

2578.33

2292721061852

Kpakungu
Roundabout

10.00

0.00237

0.003120.167

0.00295

2.83

2916.672319411064497

Kuta Garage

10.67

0.002830.003500.200

0.00295

2.83

2870.00

2318561062525

Broadcasting
Road Junction

13.17

0.00280

0.003400.167

0.00298

2.83

3111.67

2331391065550

Maitumbi
Junction

3.17

0.00205

0.002450.027

0.00257

2.00

2453.33

2227451071602

Maikunkele
motor garage

11.17

0.002930.00350

0.167

0.003152.83

2661.67

The database of the preliminary selected locations developed in ArcGIS9.2 software is shownin Figure 3. This software provides a platform for an interaction between the attribute data of
the gases and their spatial relationship.

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Figure 3: Showing the Attribute Data of the Gases and their Spatial Relationship
Source: Authors, 2011

The database of the preliminary selected locations developed in ArcGIS9.2 software is shownin Figure 3. This software provides a platform for an interaction between the attribute data of
the gases and their spatial relationship.
Correlation of the vehicular gases was measured with the traffic volume at the sample stationsin the study in order of their decreasing correlation is presented in Table 4 below. From Table
4 the “r” value shows the correlation of each of the gas types sampled versus traffic volume.
It can be seen that carbon monoxide with “r” value of 0.849 has the highest correlation withtraffic volume. This implies that, the concentration of carbon monoxide is the highest at the
flash points where the study was carried out on Minna roads. This was closely followed bycarbon dioxide with an “r” value of 0.756. Of all the values calculated, the least correlation
was obtained for sulphur dioxide.
Table 4: R-values of Vehicular Emissions in Minna
Vehicular Emission typeR value

Carbon Monoxide (CO)0.849

Carbon Dioxide (CO2)0.756

Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S)

0.752

Nitrous Oxide (NO2)0.731

Chlorine (Cl2)0.701

Ammonia (NH3)0.541

Sulphur dioxide (SO2)0.321(Source: Authors 2011)
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The results obtained show that there are variations in the emission values during the peakand off peak period of traffic across the flash points in the study. The calculated Analysis
of Variance (ANOVA) for the peak and off-peak of each gas is significant at 0.005 for the F
distribution.

5. Conclusion and Recommendations
This preliminary study has established the presence and emissions levels of carbon dioxide
as the major greenhouse gas and other gases arising from the road transportation in Minna.
Of great concern is the measured emission level of carbon dioxide which was found to behigher than 350ppm. This implies that although Minna not being an industrialised city iscontributing to global anthropogenic carbon dioxide emission through road transportation.
Apart from the apparent health effects of other constituent gases of vehicular emission, thecarbon dioxide global warming direct impact on Minna could not be determined as this takes
place higher up in the atmosphere. The emissions levels of all the gases surveyed werediscovered to be below the international toxic levels of exposure to human health. However,
it is worthy to mention that cumulative exposure will have health effects on the vulnerable
residents in Minna. It is hoped that the complete objectives of the study would have beenachieved upon the completion of the research.
In the light of the foregoing, the following recommendations are made:••••Introduction of the urban mass transit would definitely reduce the intensity of traffic on
the roads, hence the emissions from the number of vehicles that would have been on theroad. This would also be a cheaper means of transportation for the masses.
Encouraging the production of vehicles using alternative sources of energy like electricand biofuel in commercial quantities as these will result in lower emission of GHGs.
Research program should be initiated providing alternative sources of fuels for roadtransport.
Urban afforestation should be promoted by tree planting especially along transport
corridors. This should be put in place by the government to help salvage the environment
by absorbing CO2 being emitted from vehicles on the roads.

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The Environmental Cum Climate Change Implication. ATPS Working Paper No. 71

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The Environmental Cum Climate Change Implication. ATPS Working Paper No. 71

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The Environmental Cum Climate Change Implication. ATPS Working Paper No. 71

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The Environmental Cum Climate Change Implication. ATPS Working Paper No. 71

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3. Methodology
Study Area
The study area of this research is situated in the upper Blue Nile catchment of Ethiopia.
It is located approximately between coordinate 10033’06’’ to 10050’24’’ North latitude and37042’36’’ to 37058’24’’ East longitude. It covers a total estimated area of 58122.94 hectares
and with the total population of about 132069. Topographically, the area lies in the altitudes
range of 878m to 4000m.a.s.l (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Location of the study area (Source: Choke Mountain Initiative project
document, 2010)

As a result of this the area is characterized by three distinct agro-ecological zones- Dega,
Weynadega, and Kola. According to the traditional classification system, which mainly relies
on altitude and temperature for classification, Ethiopia has five climatic zones (Table 1).
The information which is obtained in Weredas’ Agricultural Offices revealed that the rainfall
amount and temperature of the area ranges from 385 -1300mm, and 10- 26oC respectively.
The area gets monomodal type of rain fall (that is Kirmt rain fall regime). The soil types wereidentified based on their colors (red, brown, black and grey); on the average percentage,
about 60 %, 39 %, 36% and 2.5% are brown, red, black and grey soil respectively. The
cultivated land covers a total area of 34161.93 ha of the area. The major annual crops
cultivated in the catchment are barley, Avena species (Ingedo), wheat, beans, peas, potato,maize, and sorghum. The common domestic animals in the area are cattle, sheep, goats,horses, mules, donkeys, and poultry.
Table 1: Traditional climatic zones and their physical characteristics
Zone

Altitude(meters)

Rainfall(mm/year)

Average temperature(Co)

Wurch(upper highland)

3200 plus

900- 2,200>11.5

Dega(highlands)

2,300- 3,200

900- 1,200

17.1/16.0- 11.5

ATPS (2013): Vehicular Carbon Emissions Concentration Level in Minna, Nigeria:
The Environmental Cum Climate Change Implication. ATPS Working Paper No. 71

ISBN: 978-9966-030-58-0
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