Ghana has been here before. The very strong El Niño events of 1982/83, 1997/98 and 2015/16, and the moderate episode of 2023/24, each left their mark on our farms, rivers, power supply and hospitals.
That history makes the Ghana Meteorological Agency’s (GMet) confirmation of a developing El Niño, likely to be intense and to shape our weather into the first half of 2027, a matter for serious attention.
GMet has cautioned that we should expect hotter and drier conditions, prolonged dry spells and, paradoxically, the possibility of sudden heavy rainfall in some areas.
Farmers face poor yields. Reservoir levels may fall, with consequences for household water supply and hydroelectric generation. Perhaps least discussed is what extreme heat will do to the human body.
On this point, Professor Mawuli Dzodzomenyo of the School of Public Health, University of Ghana, has sounded a timely warning.
In an interview with this newspaper, he noted that heatstroke, heat exhaustion, severe dehydration, kidney-related conditions and heightened cardiovascular and respiratory problems are all to be expected if temperatures climb as forecast.
His assessment of readiness is sobering: although Ghana has made progress in tackling climate-related health threats, heat surveillance remains weak, and few response protocols exist to guide action when temperatures turn dangerous.
That is the heart of the matter. We tend to treat heat as a discomfort to be endured rather than a hazard to be managed. Floods and disease outbreaks command emergency responses; a heatwave arrives quietly, and its casualties are seldom counted as such.
The elderly person who collapses at home, the child who falls ill at school and the pregnant woman who struggles through a sweltering afternoon may never appear in a statistic linking their suffering to the weather.
The professor’s call for early warning systems is therefore well made.
The Ministry of Health, working with GMet, the Ghana Health Service and other agencies, should move without delay to monitor rising temperatures, set clear thresholds for action and issue timely alerts. A forecast alone is not enough.
It must be translated into advice ordinary people can understand and act upon, and the media have a role in carrying such alerts to every corner of the country, in English and in our local languages.
Those most at risk deserve particular attention. Outdoor workers, among them farmers, construction workers and market traders, cannot simply stay indoors, and many earn their living by the day with little room to negotiate their hours.
Employers, especially in construction, should lead in shifting work to the cooler hours of early morning and late evening, and in allowing regular rest breaks, drinking water and shade.
Schools, too, have a duty of care and should arrange breaks and outdoor activities for children during cooler periods.
Clinicians and community health workers should be trained to recognise the early signs of heat-related illness and respond promptly, for the difference between swift treatment and delay can be the difference between recovery and tragedy.
None of this requires extraordinary resources. It requires foresight, coordination and political will.
The lesson of past El Niño episodes is that Ghana pays a heavy price when it reacts late. We have the forecast, we have the expert advice and we have time, though not unlimited time.
Citizens have a part to play as well. Following the weather forecast, drinking enough water, checking on elderly relatives and neighbours, and adjusting daily routines are small habits that can save lives.
The heat is coming. Whether it becomes a crisis will depend largely on what we do between now and then.
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