You wake up one morning and you noticed that the weather has changed. It was expected but probably not so soon. It is yet another season, for there is indeed a season for everything.
The rain has come and gone and the harmattan is here again. It comes with its dry, dusty air, hot temperature in the daytime and cold temperature at night and early hours of the morning.
There is the tendency for one to have high thirst for water, because the throat dries up easily, the lips crack easily, the hair breaks easily and one loses more water either through sweating, talking or urinating.
There are two major seasons in the climate of Nigeria, the rainy season and the dry season (popularly known as harmattan season). The rainy season in Nigeria is usually between March and November while the dry season is between November and March.
The dry season is very cold in the mornings and evenings. The mornings are especially cold before sunrise. The season is characterized by cold weather, low humidity, and dust particles suspended in air, blue cloudless sky and drought caused by absence of rainfall.
The Harmattan is a seasonal wind which blows across Northwestern Africa every year from November through March, at intermittent strengths.
The dry wind lowers the humidity, which can lead to hot days and cool nights.
This famous wind blows from North to South, working its way across the Sahara to the Gulf of Guinea. Along the way, it tends to pick up sand and dust, turning into a very drying, dusty wind. When the Harmattan really gets going, the dust can create a cloudy haze which can sometimes intensify into an actual sandstorm.
Risks associated with the Harmattan include:
This is the period when the Asthmatic patients suffer more crises. Many also suffer pneumonia and bronchitis, especially the very young and the aged. Those that are allergic to cold should also endeavor to go for thick clothing that can cover them up.
The skin can be kept healthy by topical application of oily creams and weather friendly dressings.
Our drinking water containers should also be properly covered.
Harmattan is the period when the throat gets sore, sneezing is frequent, sometimes the eyes become watery or reddish, frequent headaches, sputum in your saliva because of catarrh and then cold and over time, cough. All these symptoms for just one season!
The Harmattan, despite its adverse health effects, is not without some benefits to man. For example, the low temperature associated with it is unfavorable for breeding of mosquitoes thus reducing the incidence of malaria.
The cool wind also brings relief from the oppressive heat. It also makes for some beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
The Harmattan is a natural phenomenon that we have to contend with. That notwithstanding, man’s alteration of his natural environment, help fuel these natural hazards with attendant health consequences. Desert encroachment by human activities in form of deforestation must be discouraged by relevant authorities.
It is not enough to observe ceremonial tree planting campaigns yearly without devising a means of nurturing them. Alternative means of fuel such as coal, would go a long way in reducing the societal demand for fire wood for cooking.
Environmental sanitation and enacting and enforcing laws to regulate environmental pollution from industrial bye products are all measures that will minimize the adverse health effect of this natural hazard. Indeed, there is no weather that would fully be accepted by all humans no matter how favorable it is.
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