Journal of Geoscience and Eco Agricultural Studies

Abstract

Trends in soil temperature are important but rarely reported indicators of climate change; yet this has received little attention, even when the non-attention to soil investigation by the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority has been confirmed to contribute partly to the increasing cases of collapsed buildings in the area. This study analysed soil temperature trends in Enugu metropolitan city, using secondary subsoil temperature and surface air temperature data sets that were sourced from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency over 21 years (2000-2020). The statistical techniques employed were the interwoven statistics – correlation and regression. The study showed that, while the annual soil temperature has been decreasing (0.012 °C per year), the soil-air temperature differences have been increasing (0.037 °C per year), although both of these trends were nonsignificant. The study acknowledged an inherent possible drawback due to the use of nonhomogenised data sets and recommends that the penalised maximal F test should be employed in further research aimed at validating the findings presented here.