The excessively hot weather is as a result of a heat wave and will last until next month, the Ghana Meteorological Agency has said.
Chief Forecaster at the Agency, Kafui Quarshiegah, explained that the situation is due to the sun which has just crossed the equator and is directly on the earth’s surface.
“Normally around this time of the year, the sun [crosses] the equator and is perpendicular to the earth’s surface so if you’re on the earth’s surface the sun is just directly on your head,” he told Accra-based Joy FM.
“Unfortunately for us around April we should have the clouds which will be preventing some of the heat from the sun but this year, we are not having the clouds as it should be. So we are having a deficit in the rainfall, which is causing the clouds to despair and the sun is still heating up which is causing the heat wave,” he said.
He added, “We are just hoping that by May 10 to 20, we will start seeing some rains coming in so where the clouds will start building up we will have a shade of the sun and therefore, temperatures will go down.”
People advised to take in lots of water in order to prevent dehydrationThe chief forecaster advised people not to walk in the sun during the day and take a lot of water.
“If you are even a farmer at least work for some time, when the sun is at its peak you just move out, let the sun go down then you come back to the farm but don’t work throughout the period in the sun. Get some shade, hide under it and save yourself some environmental conditions,” he said.
Road markings appear distorted as the asphalt starts to melt following the high temperature
