The Climate

The heat is a difficult problem to overcome. In the hot, humid south we spent much of our time in the relative coolness of air conditioning, be that in hotels, in the car, in restaurants or even in the VSO office. There were also shady areas. However, it stayed hot in the evenings too, and there were lots of mosquitoes and other insects.

In the north the temperature is very high (38-40 degrees), but the atmosphere very dry. The dry heat is more pleasant than the humid heat of the south, but it is still very very hot. In addition, this is the season when the ‘harmatan’ blows – a wind which blows in from the Sahara Desert bringing huge amounts of dust with it. The landscape is arid so there is very little shade, and the sun beats down relentlessly. This makes it unbearably hot to the point you feel you could pass out, and there is dust everywhere. This dust lays upon everything outside, so you become dirty easily, and it is in the air, so you breathe it in and your nose and throat become very dry. Our driver who brought us north said his voice changes depending on which area he is in. Noriko says she thinks the temperature in the house is around 32 degrees, but outside is much hotter. The fans are helpful to a point, but are really just blowing around the hot air, and of course they only work when we have power!

The saving grace, however, is the fact that it is noticeably cooler in the evenings (not cold – you still wear a t-shirt) and early mornings so there is some respite. Also there are no mosquitoes at the moment as it is too dry for them. On my cycle rides to the Education Office or schools in the mornings at about 8am the temperature isn’t too bad. However, riding back from about 10am onwards is much harder. The heat is overwhelming and you must find ways to cool down, in order to avoid heatstroke.

The advice is to drink at least 5 litres of water a day, always to have some water with you when you are out and wear high factor sunscreen and a hat at all times. I also have a cold water wash when I get home, and sometimes soak my clothes to cool me down. I have also poured cold water over myself while I'm out - although the Ghanaians view this as a little strange! Clothes dry within an hour, even if you are wearing them!

Luckily I seem to be acclimatising and I'm starting to find it a little easier, although I still notice the heat and I still have to take care. In March the season will change to the hot season, believe it or not! This will mean that the harmatan winds will stop and the nights will not be cooler; it will get hotter and hotter until eventually in May the rains will come. I will not be here for the rains, but I'm told there will be very very heavy showers and floods, although it does not rain all the time. Many roads will become unpassable, because they are dirt tracks and will become deep mud. The volunteers will not be able to reach all the schools. The good thing will be that all the trees and plants will start to grow again, and fruit will be plentiful.

And sadly.... the mosquitoes will return!