Assessment of Drought across Kaduna State, Nigeria Using MODIS Dataset

Introduction: Kaduna state in Nigeria is located within the Guinea Savannah of the African Continent. The state is susceptible to desertification and the risks of drought.

Aim and Objectives: The aim of the study is to access magnitude and extent drought in Kaduna state Nigeria using MODIS dataset.

Study Design: The study examined people’s perception; precipitation data and satellite imageries for assessing and monitoring drought. Descriptive statistics were used to present the some of the data.

Methodology: The dataset were analysed using Idrisi remote sensing and Geographical Information (GIS) softwares to determine the aerial coverage of drought and its magnitude. Furthermore, run off were determined, VCI calculated, cross-tabulation were made from classified imageries and the views of respondents were also sought to complement the analysis.

Results: The study revealed that there have been several episodes of drought in Kaduna state within the period under review. Runoff decreased from 72.50mm in 2000 to just about 48.00mm in 2009. The study also revealed that there is a positive relationship (0.72) between rainfall and vegetation vigour/biomas in the state. Similarly, vegetation condition index (VCI) revealed a value 10.2% indicating a severe drought in the state based on Kogans drought classification.

Conclusion: The study concluded that both rainfall and vegetation/biomas vigour are generally decreasing suggesting a strong positive correlation value of 0.71. While a better high spatial resolution satellite dataset be utilised for further studies in this direction, the study also recommends that individuals and organisations be encouraged to engage in the habit of tree planting in order to curtail the decrease in vegetation biomass in the state. In addition, research and extension services should be strongly promoted in order to develop particular breed of seeds that can survive the drought in this period of food insecurity.