I was scrolling through my phone yesterday afternoon while at work to find out what is causing so much heat in Nigeria. Seriously, this year's heat wave has become unbearable for a lot of people including myself. My colleagues and I have complained over this for the past days and it makes it uncomfortable for me to feel hot until I pour water on my body to cool it down.
According to some medical experts who were interviewed in the News Agency in Calabar, they attributed this current heat wave to climate change.
Climate change is a shift in temperature and weather patterns which is mainly caused by the activities of humans.
With what is happening now, it can be deduced that human activities such as building more concrete buildings, making tarred roads, and burning fossil fuels from automobiles are what is causing the temperature change which brings about the heat wave we are experiencing now.
I checked the weather forecast at past 10 pm last night and here is what I got, where I am presently, the weather is partly cloudy. There was a sign that it would rain last night which I was jubilating at first thinking the rain would clear away the heat, but within a few minutes, the sound of the drop stopped and I was sad again which made me go for another round of shower just to cool my body from the hotness coming from within. According to what I read online, the air temperature will fall to 41°C in the North and 39°C in the south. This will continue for some days as the temperature will be much higher than this.
We were welcomed with the harmattan period in December and entered January, while I was even complaining of it being too much, even though the season is my favourite, it was such an extreme harmattan that brought about a runny nose for me till after a few days before it left. The cold together with dust was something we never wanted and while we were still lamenting the extreme cold, all of a sudden, the heat came. Now, it gave harmattan the audacity to create a caption that we don't value what we have until it is lost 😃😃 Though we wished the harmattan was gone or perhaps was reduced so we could at least enjoy our day because this heat is something we do not want, but as it is, this will continue for some days.
At this point we are, there is nothing to be done until the heating season goes away and until then, we have to endure while following certain precautions laid down by these medical experts. It is expedient we avoid excessive physical activities under high temperatures and if possible, we should stay indoors while putting on light clothing just to allow some flow of fresh air. This heat temperature can cause measles, fainting, chickenpox, heat rash and even death because there were cases of people who died of excessive heat. So, let's beware of staying outside for long, especially under the heat temperature and if possible, seek shade.
At this time, it is necessary to stay hydrated by drinking lots of water often. Dehydration causes headache, dizziness, fatigue, and muscle cramps. So, taking plenty of water and staying under the tree that provides fresh air could do the magic. Taking a shower regularly would work at this time.
This situation will persist in the coming days, so staying away from tight places is paramount.
