Abstract and References
Transactions on Science and Technology Vol. 4, No. 4, 460 - 465, 2017

The Monsoon Effect on Rainfall and Solar Radiation in Kota Kinabalu

Khan Vun Teong, Kartini Sukarno, Jackson Hian Wui Chang, Fuei Pien Chee, Chong Mun Ho, Jedol Dayou

ABSTRACT
Kota Kinabalu is located near the equator with a typically tropical climate, abundant rainfall, high and uniform temperatures, plentiful sunlight and high humidity that comes almost all year. The main economic activities in Kota Kinabalu such as agriculture, fishery, and tourism are highly impacted by the monsoon climate. This study analyzed the monthly time-variability of rainfall and solar radiation in Kota Kinabalu and monsoon temporal from October 2013 to September 2014. The daily average rainfall data were collected from Kota Kinabalu Meteorological Department, while, the solar radiation data with a ten minutes interval were obtained using LI-200 pyronometer. Subsequently, the maximum and minimum monthly average of solar radiation and cumulative rainfall were obtained. The paper examines the observed fluctuation of these variables and attempts to explain their possible relationship. The findings indicate that the period when the southwest monsoon season brings greater rainfall has lesser solar radiation. However, the level of solar radiation does not have an inverse relationship with rainfall amount. This could be due to the variation in air mass, short-term high-intensity rainfall or diurnal variation of rainfall. The city also received higher amount of rainfall in inter-monsoon period in October 2013 than that in the inter-monsoon in April 2014. This phenomenon happened due to the tail effect of typhoons that happen in Philippines. Sudden increases in wind speed up to average 33 km/h also happened during this inter-monsoon period.

KEYWORDS: Monsoon Season; Solar radiation; Rainfall; Variability; Kota Kinabalu

Download Full Text PDF

REFERENCES

Ahmad, M. J. & Tiwari G. N. (2011). Solar radiation models - a review. International Journal of Energy Research, 35(4), 271-290.

Alam, M. M., Toriman, M. E., Siwar, C. & Talib, B. (2011). Rainfall variation and changing pattern of agricultural cycle. American Journal of Environmental Science, 7(1), 82-89.

Campillo, C, Fortes, R., & Prieto, M. (2012). Solar Radiation Effect on Crop Production. In: Babatunde, E. B. (ed.). Solar Radiation. Croatia: Intech.

Cheang, B. K. (1993). Interannual variability of monsoons in Malaysia and its relationship with ENSO. Journal of Earth System Science, 102(1), 219-239.

Díaz-Torres, J. J., Hernández-Mena, L., Murillo-Tovar, M. A., León-Becerril, E., López-López, A., Suárez-Plascencia, C., Aviña-Rodríguez, E., Barradas-Gimate, A. & Ojeda-Castillo, V. (2017). Assessment of the modulation effect of rainfall on the solar radiation availability at the earth’s surface. Meteorological Applications, 24, 180-190.

Djamila, H., Ming, C. C. & Kumaresan, S. (2011). Estimation of Exterior Vertical Daylight for the Humid Tropic of Kota Kinabalu City in East Malaysia. Renewable Energy, 36(1), 9-15.

Ho, D. J., Siti, M. D., Jafar-Sidik, M. & Aung, T. (2013). Influence of Weather Condition on Pelagic Fish Landings in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation, 10, 11-21.

Koiting, R. F., Saleh, E., Madin, J., Aung, T. & Mustajap, F. (2015). Morphologies changes during pre- and post- Southwest Season in Mantanani Besar Island, Kota Belud, Sabah. Borneo Science, 36, 21-32.

Mahendran, M., Lee, G. C., Shahrani, A., Bakar, R. A., Kadirgama, K., Amir A. R. & Sharma, K. V. (2013). Diurnal pattern and estimation of global solar radiation in East Coast Malaysia. International Journal of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering, 8, 1162-1175.

Malaysia Meteorological Department (MMD) (2012). General Climate of Malaysia (http://www.met.gov.my). Accesssed on 2 July 2017.

Mayowa, O. O., Pour, S. H., Shahid, S., Mohsenipour, M., Harun, M. S. B., Heryansyah, A. & Ismail, T. (2015). Trends in rainfall and rainfall-related extremes in the east coast of peninsular Malaysia. Journal of Earth System Science, 124(8), 1609-1622.

Mojiol, A. R. (2006). Ecological Landuse Planning and Sustainable Management of Urban and Sub-urban Green Areas in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Goettingen: Cuvillier Verlag.

Riordan, C. J., Hulstrom, R. L. & Myers, D. R. (1990). Influences of Atmospheric Conditions and Air Mass on the Ratio of Ultraviolet to Total Solar Radiation. Golden: National Renewable Energy Laboratory Nrel/tp-215-3895.

Semenov, M. A. & Porter, J. R. (1995). Climatic Variability and the Modelling of Crop Yields. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 73(3-4), 265-283.

Simontacchi, M., Galatro, A. Ramos-Artuso, F. & Santa-María, G. E. (2015). Plant Survival in a Changing Environment: the Role of Nitric Oxide in Plant Responses to Abiotic Stress. Front Plant Science, 6, 1-19.

Suhaila, J. & Jemain, A. A. (2009). Investigating the impacts of adjoining wet days on the distribution 30 of daily rainfall amounts in Peninsular Malaysia. Journal of Hydrology, 368(1-4), 17-25.

Suhaila, J. & Jemain, A. A. (2012). Spatial analysis of daily rainfall intensity and concentration index in Peninsular Malaysia. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 108(1-2), 235-245.

Sukarno, K., Hamid, A. S. A., Dayou, J., Makmud, M. Z. H. & Sarjadi, M. S. (2013). Measurement of Global Solar Radiation in Kota Kinabalu Malaysia. ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 10(15), 6467-6471.

Varikoden, H., Samah, A. A. & Babu, C. A. (2010). Spatial and temporal characteristics of rain intensity in the Peninsular Malaysia using TRMM rain rate. Journal of Hydrology, 387, 312-319.

Weather History for WBKK - October, 2013 (WBKKO) (2017). Weather Underground (https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/WBKK/2013/10/1/MonthlyHistory.html?req_city=Kota+Kinabalu&req_statename=Malaysia&reqdb.zip=00000&reqdb.magic=1085&reqdb.wmo=96471). Accesssed on 25 August 2017.

Weather History for WBKK - April, 2014 (WBKKA) (2017). Weather Underground (https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/WBKK/2013/10/1/MonthlyHistory.html?req_city=Kota+Kinabalu&req_statename=Malaysia&reqdb.zip=00000&reqdb.magic=1085&reqdb.wmo=96471). Accesssed on 25 August 2017.

Wong, C. L., Venneker, R., Uhlenbrook, S., Jamil, A. B. M. & Zhou, Y. (2009). Variability of rainfall in Peninsular Malaysia. Hydrology and Earth System Science, 6, 5471-5503.

Yang, K. & Koike, T. (2005). A general model to estimate hourly and daily solar radiation for hydrological studies. Water Resources Research, 41, W10403.