Kofi Adu Domfeh writes: When roads are constructed to kill

It is pitiful when lives must be lost in order to maintain the safety of our roads, despite repeated pleas from drivers and commuters.

 

Three years after the Ahodwo-Trede road was upgraded, the road has turned into a necessary evil for users.

 

Indeed, the road construction has been a major relief to residents, and eased traffic congestion on a sector of the Kumasi-Obuasi highway.

 

However, there have been avoidable accidents and fatalities on the road.

 

Recorded accidents

 

Sokoban is a major industrial enclave on the stretch, and the road links to several communities in the region.

 

Sections of the main road have turned death traps, recording major and minor accidents daily.

 

In April 2024, about five people were injured in a gory accident on the Ahodwo-Sokoban stretch, involving two vehicles and a tricycle popularly known as ‘Pragyia’.

 

In March 2024, two people were reported dead with five others severely injured after a tragic accident involving a mini commercial 'trotro' bus ramming into another bus.

 

A year earlier in April 2023, a trailer ran over three saloon cars at Sokoban, killing one person. 

 

In October 2023, a saloon car ran over bystanders, killing two people at Sokoban Krofrom.

 

In February 2023, a gas tanker driver and his conductor were injured after their truck fell on its side at a sharp curve and caught fire at Sokoban Ampayoo.

 

Dangerous driving

 

The road has been without safety cautions: there are no traffic lights, no road markings, including zebra crossing, and no reflectors on the medians.

 

Pedestrian knockdowns, collisions at intersections and vehicular turnovers are rampant.

 

Reckless driving, excessive speeding and wrongful parking also contribute to crashes on the road.

 

Night driving is most dangerous as there are no lights to aid vision.

 

There is an outcry by residents and motorists over the neglect, leading to loss of lives and injuries to accidents.

 

Neglected section

 

The stalled construction of the one-kilometer Sokoban-Ampayoo stretch, has been frustrating for commuting, causing harm to vehicles and exposing residents to health risks from dust pollution.

 

Motorists spend 30-45mins to ply due to the deplorable state.

 

Few metres away is a life-threatening pothole at the corner of a curve left unattended for several months.

 

Road users and inhabitants of Sokoban have agitated over the deteriorating state of the road, despite assurances from local authorities to get it fixed.

 

Installing Road Safety

Communities need good roads but these roads should not be built to kill.

 

Road contractors need to prioritize safety installations when roads are constructed and the supervising professionals and institutions must ensure the safety of road users and residents are not compromised in project execution.

  

The pillars of road safety includes road safety management, safer vehicles, safer road users, post-crash response and safer driving environment.

 

Majority of road traffic deaths and serious injuries are preventable if the driving environment is made safe.

 

Failing to take the right actions in making the roads safe has broader implications in public health with socio-economic consequences as it affects the progress towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

 

 

Deadly heatwave in the Sahel and West Africa would have been impossible without human-caused climate change

The recent deadly heatwave in the Sahel and West Africa with temperatures above 45°C would not have been possible without human-caused climate change, according to rapid analysis by an international team of leading climate scientists from the World Weather Attribution group.

 

In late March and early this April, extreme heat impacted countries in the Sahel and West Africa. The hottest temperature occurred on April 3, when Mali recorded 48.5°C.

 

In Bamako, the Gabriel-Toure Hospital announced a surge in excess deaths, with 102 deaths over the first four days of April. Around half were over the age of 60 and the hospital reports that heat likely played a role in many of the deaths.

 

A lack of data in the countries affected makes it impossible to know how many people were killed, however it’s likely there were hundreds or possibly thousands of other heat-related deaths.

 

Climate change, caused by burning fossil fuels like oil, coal and gas, and other human activities, is making heatwaves more frequent, longer and hotter around the world.

 

“The early-April heat in the Sahel and West Africa was extraordinary – for nearly a week, daytime temperatures pushed well above 40°C, while nighttime temperatures in some regions reached 30°C,” said Clair Barnes, researcher at Grantham Institute - Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London.

 

“Our study joins a mountain of evidence linking dangerous heat with warming caused by fossil fuel emissions.”

 

Quantifying the human factor

 

To quantify the effect of human-caused warming on the extreme temperatures in the Sahel and West Africa, scientists analysed weather data and climate models to compare how these types of events have changed between today’s climate, with approximately 1.2°C of global warming, and the cooler pre-industrial climate using peer-reviewed methods.

 

The analysis looked at the five-day average of maximum daily temperatures in two areas: one that includes southern regions of Mali and Burkina Faso, where the heat was most extreme, and a larger area including regions of Niger, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea, where temperatures were widely above 40°C.

 

Kiswendsida Guigma, Climate Scientist at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre in Burkina Faso, said “year-round heat is part of life in the Sahel and regions of West Africa. However, the extreme temperatures were unprecedented in many places and the surge in excess deaths reported by the Gabriel-Toure Hospital in Mali highlighted just how dangerous the heat was.

 

“For some, a heatwave being 1.4 or 1.5°C hotter because of climate change might not sound like a big increase.

 

“But this additional heat would have been the difference between life and death for many people.”

 

To investigate hot night time temperatures, which can be dangerous when the human body cannot rest and recover, the researchers also analysed the five-day average of minimum temperatures for the Mali and Burkina Faso region.

 

The scientists found that both the daytime and nighttime heatwaves, across both regions, would have been impossible if humans had not warmed the planet by burning fossil fuels like oil, coal and gas, and with other activities like deforestation.

 

Climate change made the maximum temperatures 1.5°C hotter and the nighttime temperatures 2°C hotter for the Burkina Faso and Mali region, and the five-day daytime temperatures for the wider region

1.4°C hotter.

 

Recent heatwave rare

 

A heatwave like the recent one is still relatively rare, even in today’s climate with 1.2°C of warming, the researchers found. Across the wider West Africa region, similarly high daytime temperatures can be expected about once every 30 years. However, daytime temperatures like those experienced in Mali and Burkina Faso, where heat-related fatalities were reported, are expected around once in every 200 years.

 

But events like these will become much more common, and even more dangerous, unless the world moves away from fossil fuels and countries rapidly reduce emissions to net zero. If global warming reaches 2°C, as is expected to occur in the 2040s or 2050s unless emissions are rapidly halted, similar events will occur 10 times more frequently.

 

The researchers also quantified the possible influence of El Niño on the heat, but found that its effect was not significant when compared with the influence of human-caused climate change.

 

The study highlights factors that worsened the impacts of the heat across the region. The heat occurred at the end of Ramadan when many Muslim people fast during the day. The Sahel region has a large Muslim population and while high temperatures are common in April, the researchers say the relentless day and nighttime heat would have been overwhelming for many people who were abstaining from food and water.

 

They also note that conflict, poverty, limited access to safe drinking water, rapid urbanisation and strained health systems likely worsened the impacts.

 

Heat action plans that set out emergency responses to dangerous heat are extremely effective at reducing heat-related deaths during heatwaves. However, neither Burkina Faso or Mali have one in place.

 

Given the increasing risk of dangerous heat in the Sahel and West Africa, the researchers say developing heat action plans will help to save lives and lessen the burden of extreme heat on health systems.

 

Finally, the researchers say the Gabriel-Toure Hospital’s rapid reporting of heat-related deaths was a valuable illustration of the dangers of extreme heat that would have likely acted as an effective warning for people in the region.

 

“Attribution studies like this one clearly show that if the world continues to burn fossil fuels, the climate will continue to warm and vulnerable people will continue to die,” said Friederike Otto, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science at Grantham Institute - Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London.

 

“In the future, it’s likely this increasingly evident link between fossil fuel emissions and heat-related death will be used in litigation against fossil fuel companies.”

 

The study was conducted by 19 researchers as part of the World Weather Attribution group, including scientists from universities, organisations and meteorological agencies in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Switzerland, Sweden, South Africa, The Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.

 

Kofi Adu Domfeh writes: There is anger in the land and it's heat-induced

The night rains come as soothing relief to many homes and families in Ghana.

But soon, the land is heated up, consuming the little moisture in the atmosphere to expose the real element of an unexpected changing weather.

The discomfort of the night's heat is telling in many homes: children, couples, and everyone's comforting sleep is tormented.

And when there is no electricity to offer some succor in fanning the hot air, anger is provoked in the land.

This is the reality of today's hassling weather.

Ama runs a beauty salon in the densely-populated Ayigya suburb of Kumasi. When there is an erratic power supply in what has become known as 'dumsor', the operation of her small salon comes to a halt. Earning enough to pay her four other hands becomes a challenge.

Ama is already thinking of investing in small solar systems as an alternative source of electricity to power her hairdryers. She is hoping to access support for the alternative renewable energy source.

For many small and large-scale businesses, the recent unannounced power outages have been frustrating to their income generation and limiting productivity at the workplace.

But when they return from a day's unproductive work to a dark hot home at night, their anger peaks.

"I will sleep tired and wake up tired because of this heat. It's suffocating when there is no light to turn on the fan," said Ama. 

"Can you believe I've not been in the mood for sex for almost three weeks? My husband does not even come close to me," the mother of two sounded seriously jovial.

She explained how she had to soak towels in water to cool her sweaty children after hand fanning them for several minutes.

The common scenes

Heavy rains and heat waves are among hazards faced by the ever-growing global population.

Parts of Ghana, for instance, have experienced the rains in March, yet heat waves – that cut deep into the skin – abound.

With urbanization and the spread of megacities, communities are exposed and vulnerable. And people get worried about the unbearable heat during the daytime and at night.

In the past couple of months, especially in February, the heat intensity has pushed an increase in the use of umbrellas in the afternoon.

The marketing and purchasing of air-conditioners are rising for homes and offices, as more motorists are getting their ACs on.

The voluntary use of nose masks in densely-populated environments is on the ascendancy, as dust particles increase in the atmosphere.

And there is also an increase in the consumption of water to overcome dehydration and exhaustion.

The heat-induced anger

Electricity supply in most parts of Ghana has been erratic in recent days. This has got consumers angry, especially when the power outages come without notification of a planned schedule for load shedding.

Interestingly, street talk on the impact of the current erratic power supply is more profound at the household level than the commercial impact.

Obviously, the recent public anger towards ‘dumsor’ is induced by the unfairness of the heat to the skin and inner being, especially at night.

In the midst of the power outages, a couple of mothers have attributed the death of their children on admission at the hospital to heat exhaustion.

Indeed, the extremes of the weather are here.

At the recently-held inter-schools athletics competition in the Ashanti region, fire officers had to intervene in rescuing students from heat exhaustion at Baba Yara Stadium as they deployed fire tenders to spray water into the crowd. Temperatures rose 36°C, high above bearable limits, and the students suffered discomfort under the unbearable heat of the scorching sun.

The intimacy between some couples have been strained by the heat waves as their romantic intimacy of cuddling suffers in the hands of a discomforting night sweat under the hot still breeze.

The rising temperatures in parts of the world have been a threat to religious activities, especially in the period of fasting. Some fasting Muslims, for instance, have been advised to increase their intake of water at pre-dawn meals for energy to prevent dehydration.

Already, authorities at the Kintampo Health Research Center are embarking on a study to measure the impact of climate change, particularly heat waves on the health of the local populace.

The move is to assess the risk of illnesses caused as a result of increasing temperatures fueled by climate change.

Humid heatwaves driven by climate change

February this year was the hottest February on record globally and the ninth consecutive month in a row that a hottest month record was broken.

Climate change has an influence on extreme weather events such as heatwaves and excessive rains.

Climate change, caused by burning fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal, and deforestation, has made heatwaves more frequent, longer and hotter around the world.

According to a study by leading climate scientists from the World Weather Attribution group, human-caused climate change made the humid heatwave in southern West Africa during February ten times more likely.

Ghana is among countries in West Africa hit by an unusually intense humid heatwave, and has broken temperature records above 40°C in February 2024. 

The researchers say developing heat action plans will help protect vulnerable people from dangerous heatwaves in West Africa.

The study also found that if humans do not rapidly move away from fossil fuels, causing global warming to rise to 2°C above pre industrial levels, West Africa will experience similar heatwaves about once every two years.

This “global boiling” as termed by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres became profound during the recent African Cup of Nations (AFCON) football tournament as a ‘cooling break’ was introduced to allow players to dehydrate from the humid conditions. 

Long-term climate change is increasing the intensity and frequency of the humid environment. Urban areas experience higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas due to reduced vegetation and increased heat-absorbing surfaces.

The sixth report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underscores the urgency of climate action.

The energy in the heat

The high temperatures come with heat-related illness, especially respiratory and other chronic diseases.

Because they may be extremely fatal for the elderly and other persons with underlying health concerns, heatwaves are often referred to as "silent killers."

Preterm contractions, general discomfort, and spontaneous abortion in the early stages of pregnancy might possibly result from the heat wave.

If left ignored, dehydration can result in more severe issues including heat exhaustion, heat stroke, skin infections, mental health issues, and even death.

Experts advise the intake of adequate intake of water to remain hydrated and stay safe from headaches, fatigue, muscle cramps, and dizziness.

And when people are unable to sleep well at night, workplace productivity and academic performances are adversely impacted.

But there could be opportunities.

The most reliable source of clean energy in most African nations is solar power. According to Global Energy Monitor statistics, by the end of 2023, solar is estimated to account for 67 per cent of the growth in renewable energy capacity globally, with Africa accounting for a 1.7 percent.

Clean energy advocates believe it is time to turn to solar power by taking advantage of the abundant sunshine.

Perhaps, the anger in the voice of Ghanaians will be better managed if the country takes the lead in adopting or increasing new energy sources that are clean and sustainable.

Small business managers like Ama, the beautician, will be glad to adopt such energy sources.

But this will require major investments in Africa to build resilience to dangerous heat. The UN has estimated that the cost of adaptation for developing countries is between US$215-387 billion per year this decade.

However, rich countries haven’t yet met the financial promises they have made to help developing countries become more resilient to the growing risks of climate change.

In addition, these commitments fall drastically short of the finance required – in 2021, the global community delivered just US$21 billion to help developing countries adapt to climate change.

Executive Secretary, UN Climate Change, Simon Stiell, in acknowledging the latest temperature increases that have been off the charts, spoke about a world where clean energy is abundant and affordable.

He emphasized the need to make climate finance bigger and better to undo the deadlock between developed and developing countries for “a world where every nation is safe, opportunities are shared, and 10 billion people are protected from climate impacts”. 

Kofi Adu Domfeh is a Journalist, Climate Reality Leader and Green Advocate. Email: adomfeh@gmail.com