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Temperature increases in the northern part of Ghana

Introduction

A key outcome of the 2015 Paris Agreement was the objective of “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C” [47]. This effort is a recognition that the current and projected elevation of atmospheric carbon means global temperature will continue to rise.

Impact of high temperature in the northern region.

• Heat waves can happen more often and last longer, causing illnesses such as heat cramps and heat stroke, or even death.
• Warmer temperatures can lead to a chain reaction of other changes around the world.
• Higher temperatures are worsening many types of disasters, including storms, floods, and droughts.
• A warmer climate can change weather patterns in such a way that wet areas become wetter and dry areas drier.

Policies to Mitigate High Temperatures In Ghana

Agriculture and Food Security Ghana’s economy is still heavily based on agriculture. The sector remains dependent on rainfall, rather than irrigation systems. The small-scale farmers who account for about 80% of domestic agricultural production have few resources to invest, and farming remains ‘low tech’. As a result, the sector is very vulnerable to the potential impacts of climate change. Changes in rainfall patterns also make it hard for farmers to plan their growing seasons with accuracy. Food security is a crucial issue. Ghana reduced hunger by nearly three-quarters between 1990 and 2004, but food security disparities affect the delivery of the country’s development objectives. About 18% of Ghanaians who fall below the extreme poverty line are chronically food insecure. Generally, those whose livelihoods are most dependent on agriculture are most affected. Analysis in the poorest regions that are also most vulnerable to climate change found that 34% of households in the Upper West region were experiencing food insecurity, compared with 2% in greater Accra. It is therefore important that policy responses to climate change look beyond the environment to the broader social issues faced by specific social groups. Several staple cereal crops as well as roots and tubers are beginning to be impacted by the shortening of the growing season. Anecdotal evidence points at transition zone farmers suffering heavy losses due to dry weather as well as inability to harvest tubers due to the hardness of the ground. Modernisation of agriculture, as a way to increase yields, requires a transformation of current agricultural practices and, for example, the development and application of new crop varieties that are better suited to the changing climate conditions; higher energy and water inputs to support large-scale irrigation; and mechanisation.

Reversing the risks of climate change impacts in Northern Ghana

temperature

Introduction

Heat waves can be deadly, with the elderly particularly at risk of heat exhaustion and heatstroke. According to the World Health Organization, between 1998 and 2017, more than 166,000 people died as a result of heat waves. In the UK alone, stifling temperatures claimed in excess of 2,500 lives in summer 2020.