Observation

This question was attempted by very few candidates and the performance of most of the candidates who attempted it was poor. Many could not draw good map outline of Nigeria. Mastery of map work can only be achieved through practise exercises. The characteristics of Tropical Continental Climate could not be answered by quite a good proportion of the candidates who attempted the question. The characteristics of Tropical Continental Climate include:

• known as Sudan climate
• high temperatures throughout the year [21 - 33
• characterized by wet and dry seasons
• influenced by the ITCZ/ITD
• low relative humidity in January is about 20-40% and in July is about 50-60%
• rainfall is between 500mm-1000mm
• long dry season up to about 8 months
• rainy season is up to about 3-4 months and up to 8 months in some parts
• dominant wind during the dry season is north east trade winds
• dominant wind during the wet season is south west monsoon winds
• experiences drought
• high annual temperature range is about 11
• hot rainy season and cool dry season
• rainfall is mainly convectional
• single maximum rainfall regime/pattern
• dust storms are common in the dry season
• misty harmattan in the morning and hazy in the afternoon
• very thin cloud cover
• abundant sunshine all year round
• rainfall decreases northwards in duration and total
• highest temperature is experienced before the onset of rains
• daily temperature range is above 20
• nights are colder than days