The Silent Struggles of Communities in the Grip of Climate Change.
Climate change has perched a prop in our society, increasing rapidly with the passing seconds, days, and years. What was once a mere trickle of climatic disruptions has now burst its boundaries, unleashing profound repercussions that extend even into our sanctuaries.
The current manifestation of the repercussions is profound, almost as if the climate has stepped out of its usual framework, the dole out is well entrenched. The cast of its countenance stretches even to the hideouts. We cannot conceal our belongings nor our kith and kins, the climate is sprawling in a hither-and-thither paradigm. The infirmities of this change are creeping over everyone, and dissenters are now becoming believers.
From the breath and length of the coast of Ghana, the iterating maxim on the lips of civilians is the intense and relentless heat that lies on their skins. The severity has instigated a horde of health disciplines to enlist as a failsafe to this threat. These personnel have outlined measures to alleviate dehydration, heat stroke, and heat exhaustion. According to data from Bosu, health complications within the scope of mild heat stress symptoms, such as headaches and fatigue, to severe heat strokes and fainting are ensued by extreme heat.
Outside this countenance, the heat is increasingly obstructing social-economic activities. Intense heat takes a toll on workers' daily activities and work. Pilcher's research contends that temperatures of 32.22 °C and above can significantly impede work performance. Ghanaians, especially those engaged in strenuous outdoor labor, echo this sentiment, canvassing for shorter working hours. Of course, people want to alienate the wolf of hunger from their doors but the sun's relentless taunts overshadow their daily aspirations to enhance their per capita output, reshaping and altering their providence.
These pragmatic experiences resonate with the conviction of Eckstein, who mentioned that heatwaves have engendered severe damage in the last years in the Northern Hemisphere. Ghana's geographical position, a few degrees above the equator and situated in the Northern Hemisphere, intensifies its vulnerability to changing climate patterns. This location places it at the forefront of the impacts associated with global warming.
Farmers particularly have developed a beeline for this distraught; they go to their farms early in the day to cater to the day’s activities and spend the remnants of the day in their rooms. From the outset of January, lots of farms in Ghana are severely entangled by climatic changes. Desolate fields, disrupted routines, and shared fears illustrate how climatic changes have woven into the very fabric of their lives. You must work or starve; and, of the two, everyone prefers to work but is thwarted by the relentless heat.
Almost as if dry days are no longer ephemeral, people are brooding, sharing their stream of fears in the racket. Solemnly, the sun has incessantly scowled, leaving no room to appreciate people’s drudgery. For farmers, the uncertainty of weather patterns disrupts planting and harvesting seasons, leading to financial instability and food insecurity. The constant fear of crop failure, loss of income, and the inability to provide for their families contribute to elevated stress levels and mental health issues.
As Yi associates extreme heat with mental disorders, the profound impact on the mental well-being of individuals cannot be understated. The radicals forming within our body’s system are uncanny, and the combatants we hinge onto to revert into our good body system are also on the frontlines of climate change. Vitamins and other essential nutrients are susceptible to heat, dissipating into the thin air from fruits and vegetables if exposed.
As highlighted by Cooperman, the degradation of many vitamins and supplements accelerates at high temperatures, diminishing their effectiveness. In essence, as the climate crisis intensifies, it not only impacts mental well-being directly but also jeopardizes the essential nutrients crucial for our physical health, creating a dual challenge for individuals and communities alike.
A steadfast allegiance to our unsustainable ways implies that the climate will sever people from their ties and reshape fates. Already, the ripple effects are seismic, threading vast populations in a hideous rollercoaster. We are living in our own shadow; the disruptions cannot be ascribed to a bird or a dolphin but are propagated anthropogenically. What might have seemed like distant delusions is now an undeniable reality; the heat hatch out in the evening is cussing.
Climate change has stolen our cold evenings, faded the smiles on the streets, and recreated our paths. Only through concerted efforts can we hope to mitigate the relentless march of climate change and preserve the sanctuaries we hold dear. The call to action echoes not just for us but for the generations to come, as we strive to reclaim the cold evenings stolen by climate change and restore the balance between humanity and the environment.
Recommendation
- Basu, R. (2009). High ambient temperature and mortality: A review of epidemiologic studies from 2001 to 2008. Environmental Health, 8, 40. doi: 10.1186/1476-069X-8-40.
- Pilcher, J. J., Nadler, E., & Busch, C. (2002). Effects of hot and cold temperature exposure on performance: A meta-analytic review. Ergonomics, 45, 682–698. doi: 10.1080/00140130210158419.
- Eckstein, D., Künzel, V., Schäfer, L., Winges, M. (2019). Global Climate Risk Index 2020. Retrieved from www.germanwatch.org/en/cri
- Yi, W., et al. (2019). Examining the association between apparent temperature and admissions for schizophrenia in Hefei, China, 2005–2014: a time-series analysis. Science of the Total Environment.
- Cooperman, T. (2012). Do vitamins, minerals or other supplements lose effectiveness with exposure to high temperatures? Retrieved from https://www.consumerlab.com/answers/do-supplements-lose-effectiveness-in-the-heat/vitamin-temperature/#:~:text=Answer%3A,accelerated%20by%20poor%20storage%20conditions.
