International Journal of Climate Research

Impact of hospital wastewater on the rivers’ quality: Case of Byumba hospital

Mon, 08 May 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Hospital wastewater may pose chemical, biological, and physical threats to public and environmental health. This study's objective was to evaluate the effects of hospital wastewater on waterways' quality through physico-chemical parameters’ analysis where samples were collected on-site between July and November 2021, and then using EPA and Hash procedures, they were preserved, prepared, and measured in the Environmental Research Laboratory at the University of Lay Adventists of Kigali (UNILAK-ERL). According to the findings, both receiving streams were contaminated to the following degrees: pH (88.51%), TDS (55.98%), COND (55.92%), TP (10.14%), TN (39.70%), COD (25%), Cr (9.90%), Zn (20%), Mn (4.28%) for Ruhashya stream and pH (48.43%), TDS (26.75%), COND (26.73%), TP (20.83%), TN (13.33%), COD (5.55%), Cr (19.49%), Zn (30%), Mn (4.33%) for Rwiminsi stream respectively. The findings demonstrated that Byumba hospital effluent has the potential to contaminate the ecosystem if improperly managed. Therefore, Byumba Hospital should improve the effectiveness of its hospital and routinely examine the effluent quality originating from its wastewater treatment facility; in addition, People should not be allowed to drink water from streams that receive Byumba Hospital effluents; finally, local government officials should enforce the polluter-pays principle, and environmental regulatory agencies should stiffen the penalties for institutions that fail to manage their wastes properly. Others studies on waste have been conducted, but there hasn't been any research on total dissolved solid particles (TDS), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and other heavy metals, BOD, and COD. So, this research fills the gap left behind by other researchers.

Land susceptibility to the stormwater runoff in Nyabugogo river catchment area, Rwanda

Mon, 08 May 2023 00:00:00 -0500

In Rwanda, 40% steep slope land and rapid growing urbanization increase susceptibility of land to stormwater runoff. The objectives were to analyze causal factors of stormwater runoff in the study area, to identify the extent to which the study area is susceptible to stormwater runoff, and to generate stormwater runoff susceptibility map of the study area. The study area is Nyabugogo catchment which crosses the districts of the Eastern Province (Kayonza, Rwamagana, and Gatsibo), the Northern Province districts (Gicumbi and Rulindo), and other districts of Kigali city (Kicukiro, Nyarugenge, and Gasabo districts). The authors employed secondary datasets collected from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), ranging between 2017 and 2020. Six triggering factors: Land Use and Land Cover (LULC), Rainfall, the duration of photosynthetic activity (NDVI), soil texture, Elevation, and the Slope were analyzed. The results indicated that poor land use and land management ranked 36.10%, rainfall 28.70%, and NDVI which ranked 16.40% are the main triggering factors. The results proved that Moderate, High and Very High Susceptibility to storm water runoff at large extent are recorded in Rulindo and Gicumbi districts of Northern Province, a large part of Gasabo and Nyarugenge districts in Kigali City, and parts of Gatsibo and Rwamagana districts, in Eastern province. It was concluded that if Best Management Practices (BMPs) are applied, flooding and erosion along with pollution can be minimized. The policy makers are recommended to consider the prone areas identified by this study and assign them the priority for stormwater runoff management plan.

Assessing historical climate trends in Dhaka City: A multivariate analysis using Mann-Kendall and Sen's slope method

Md Sabbir Hossen, Raian Islam Evan — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 00:00:00 -0500

This study presents a comprehensive assessment of the historical climatology of Dhaka city over a period of fifty years (1971-2021), utilizing five distinct climate parameters: Skin Temperature, Air Temperature, Rainfall, Wind Speed, and Humidity. The study employed various statistical methods, such as Linear regression, the Mann-Kendall test model, and Sen’s slope estimator method, to examine the significant patterns in climate data and quantify the degree of fluctuations in the variables. The results of the Mann-Kendall Test provided evidence that each parameter's values displayed a statistically significant trend. The Sen's Slope estimator revealed a declining trend in the monthly mean value of all climate parameters except for wind speed and humidity. The annual average Skin and Air Temperature in Dhaka City increased at a rate of 0.033°C and 0.065°C respectively over the study period; as a result, the average annual Rainfall and Humidity showed an increasing tendency, which was 1.225 mm and 0.086% respectively. The Monsoon period demonstrated the highest rainfall and humidity levels, while the winter season demonstrated the lowest levels of these parameters. The trend of Wind Speed has exhibited a decrease at a rate of 0.032 m/s over the past five decades. A critical analysis evaluates the trends and patterns observed in the data. This research attempts to improve understanding of the components that have influenced the climate of Dhaka City by evaluating historical data.

An inclusive study of lightning at various temporal resolutions over North East India using hi-res satellite data

Rahul Mahanta, Prolay Saha, B Abida Choudhury — Fri, 08 Dec 2023 00:00:00 -0600

Average lightning flash rate density (LFD) values for North East India (NEI) are analyzed for the 16-years (1998–2013) period based on high resolution TRMM LIS data. The number of lightning flash strokes are most active from March to October with the highest number of lightning strokes happening during the months of April and May, with the monsoon months witnessing the maximum spatial density shifting to the plains area. After October, LFD begin to decrease across the entire region. The highest LFD with a value of 56.65 flashes km-2 year-1, observed along an escarpment in the southern parts of Meghalaya plateau. The minimum is found in the semiarid high altitude districts along the Tibetan border in north with a value of 0.74 flashes km-2 year-1. We observed considerable Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) with moderately high LFD during the monsoon season, indicating the importance of these quantities in monsoon convections over this region. The low-level wind flow has a significant impact on the LFD distributions during the entire year. The Himalayas to the North and Bay of Bengal to the south enhance local convergence and convection resulting in lightning. Results of this study can be used in relation to lightning safety standards.