The Prediction of Rainfall Intensities of Different Regions of Different Durations and return Periods from Daily Rainfall Data in Tanzania: Part I

Abstract

Climate is an essential factor in animal husbandry and also affects animal health, particularly with regard to the atmospheric conditions, the growth of pastures and the supply of drinking water. It is often required to know what rainfall intensity to expect in a given area of a given duration and return period in order to be able to design drainage schemes, soil conservation structures, dam spillways, flood protection schemes etc. This can be determined by statistical analysis of data obtained from intensity recording rain gauges. Unfortunately there are only about twenty such rain gauges operated by the Tanzanian meteorological department in Tanzania, i.e. one rain gauge for approximately every 20,000 sq. miles. In view of the local variability of rainfall this cannot be considered adequate for prediction of intensities for most of Tanzania. However there are many meteorological stations that record daily rainfall in all parts of Tanzania. Accordingly the author has attempted to correlate daily rainfall data with rainfall intensities in Tanzania in order that intensities can be predicted wherever such data is available.