3.2 Meteorological Variations During the Study Period
Data cast in Table 2 listing Meteorological parameters pertaining to the study provide a comparative detail on this aspect .Accordingly ,the maximum temperature ranged from 9.0 to 42.0 c, with a mean value of 28.3 c, while the minimum from 0 to 28.0 c, with a mean value of 14.5 c . The average temperature was associated with random variations extending from 7.0 to 32.0 c ,with a mean value of 21.4 c Average relative humidity,featuring an important aspect of local meteorology , varied between 21 and 100% measured on fore-noon (RH 8:00) and afternoon (RH 14:00) basis. The mean RH 8:00 values were comparatively higher (79.0%) ,while those of RH 14:00 were lower (46.7%) The sunshine had a mean time of 7.69 h on daily basis ,marked with average pan evaporation of 4.32 mm/day indicating mostly humid conditions prevailed. The annual average rainfall was 16.19 mm only,which indicated an overall dry seasonal spell in an area ,which normally used to have an average of 250 mm annual rain during thepast several year (Khan 1991).Low wind velocities were encountered during the sampling period; the wind pattern remained steady and the day were mostly non-windy, with mean wind speed of about 0.65m/s The wind direction was predominantly north-east during the study period (Fig 3) Comparative seasonal variations in the meteorological conditions are also shown in Table 2