Access to clean potable water for many Ghanaians may become a difficulty as early as 2025 beating earlier predictions of 2030 attributable to the effects of illegal mining currently ravaging Ghana’s lush vegetation.
The worrying details captured in a survey by a team of researchers also indicate a worrying impact of climate change on Ghana’s healthcare system.
The world as we know it according to many scientists, is heating up. A change in climate is threatening millions of lives with adverse weather conditions recorded across the globe.
Already the month of July has been recorded as the hottest in decades both in Europe and Northern America.
The impact of this phenomenal change is biting hard at developing countries that contribute less and less to carbon responsible for the warming of the planet.
With the effects already being witnessed in Ghana, a new study by a team of researchers dubbed ‘Managing the challenges of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in Ghana” has highlighted worrying signals of climate impact on the country
Barring the ongoing effects of water challenges affecting hydroelectric power, the study revealed that up to 25 percent of the country’s population would by 2025 experience challenges with water supply. A situation that could be worsened by climate change.
Development is expected to have a cascading effect on the health and well-being of the country’s general populace.
“Since water remains an essential resource for sustaining life and development, climate impact significantly affects socioeconomic conditions and the livelihood of the populace. The effects of dwindling water supply include health and sanitation problems such as increased incidence of waterborne diseases” the report said
Already being felt is the effect of rising temperatures in Ghana. According to the report, average temperatures in Ghana have seen a 1-degree Celsius increase over the last few years with further projections of between 0.6 to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The results have been adverse weather conditions with the recent heavy rains in the North East region destroying large acres of farmland. The recent developments there where families have been stranded and roads washed away to make it three successive years of torrential rains justifying the concerns of a planet rapidly warming.
With the effects of climate change being felt, Provost at the College of Science of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Prof Leonard Amekudzi believes climate service information could be pivotal in averting the challenges associated with climate change.
“With weather prediction technologies and early warnings, we could be aware of the undesired impact of weather and climate. We developed technologies and early warning services that provide essential climate information for climate risk management, disaster preparedness and response, policy formulations and research and innovations” he said at a recent lecture.
By Eric Mawuena Egbeta|3news.com|Ghana/TV3