Nigeria has Thirty Six states and the Federal Capital Territory. Amazingly, each of these states have different atmospheric conditions and weather/climatic conditions. While it is known that the Jos Plateau is probably the coldest part of Nigeria, it is quite not so known where the hottest climatic condition is found in Nigeria. Without a doubt, anyone that has travelled round Nigeria can attest that some states are manifestly hotter than others, some are not necessarily hot but very humid; states like Benue, Niger, Kogi, Zamfara etc have a reputation for being humid, warm or hot. But do you know that the hottest or the state with the highest temperature in Nigeria is actually Sokoto state?
Sokoto state is a city located in the extreme
northwest of Nigeria, near the confluence of
the Sokoto River and
the Rima River. Sokoto has a hot semi-arid climate.
This is so because, it is located in the dry Sahel surrounded by sandy savannah and isolated hills. Because of its
geographical location, Sokoto has an annual average temperature of 28.3 °C
(82.9 °F) making it the hottest part of Nigeria. As a matter of
fact, Sokoto is also one of the hottest cities in the world. In
addition, it’s the maximum daytime temperatures are generally around/a little
below 40 °C (104.0 °F) most of the year, and this coupled with the
dryness makes the heat bearable.
In months ranging from February to
April, where daytime temperatures can exceed 45 °C (113.0 °F), the
state experiences its warmest periods. The highest recorded temperature is
47.2 °C (117.0 °F), which is also the highest recorded temperature in
Nigeria. This highest recorded temperature was recorded in the year 2010.
There are two
major seasons in Sokoto, namely dry and wet. The dry season starts from
October, and lasts up to April in some parts and may extend to May or June in
other parts. The harmattan, a dry, cold and fairly dusty wind is experienced in
the state between November and February. Heat is more severe in the state in
March and April. But the weather in the state is always cold in the morning and
hot in the afternoons, save in peak harmattan period.
The wet season
on the other hand begins in most parts of the state in May and lasts up to
September, or October, with the rains lasting between June to September, with a
daily occurrence of showers. This implies that the rain starts late and ends
early with mean annual rainfall ranging between 500 mm and 1,300 mm.
The climatic
and geographical conditions of Sokoto has served to influence the agriculture
also. The presence of the rich alluvial soil allows for
only a few crops to be cultivated. Crops such as millet (being
the most abundant), maize, rice, other cereals, and beans. Notably, only
very few vegetables thrive there alongside Tomatoes.
The name Sokoto, which is the modern/anglicised version of the local name, Sakkwato is of Arabic origin, representing suk, ‘market’. It is also known as Sakkwato, Birnin Shaihu da Bello (meaning, Sokoto, Capital of Shaihu and Bello). The name serves as both the name of the state and the capital of the state, and has a population of about 427,000 as of the 2006 population census report.