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An environmental health Expert and a former Principal of the Accra School of Hygiene, Mr. Henry Adepa has forecasted that Ghana and Africa in general will suffer from the effects of severe global warming which will lead to massive famine in the coming years.

Mr. Adepa said the attitude of Ghanaians and for that matter, Africans, towards protecting the environment is poor and that the continent will suffer the most severe climate change ever with a rise in temperature and sharp decline in crop yield in tropical regions.

Speaking to Daily Heritage in an interview, he said the current water shortage experienced in some parts of the country and food scarcity is a good example of what is about to happen in 20 to 30 years to come.

He said globally, Africa is the worst affected continent suffering from the largest crop loss, knowing well that it is highly dependent on agriculture and has the largest limits in purchasing power.

Mr. Adepa said World Bank reports over the years have constantly estimated that approximately seven million people migrate because of food scarcity out of the 80 million semi-starving in countries in sub-Saharan Africa due to environmental factors and that the figures will double in future due to global warming.

“Due to poor handling of the environment and clear disregard for rivers and water bodies, the demand for water for human consumption will increase, further cutting water amounts for an increasingly necessitated agriculture use, he stated.

He added that a new study released by the Kenyan government last year on climate change and its adverts effect in Africa points to the fact that higher temperatures and drought will cause more powerful wildfires in Africa during the dry season.

“However it is important to use long-term historical and palaeoecological data to try to understand the frequency and effects of extreme events and the way societies and ecosystems respond to them” the report suggested.

Mr. Adepa also lamented about the greenhouse effect where the sun’s energy stormed today will take 20 to 30 years to redistribute thought the system, thus what “we see today is due to atmosphere contamination before we were born.”

“At the current level of contamination, the global average temperatures will likely rise by as much as 5*C affecting 5 to 20% global living standards; thus developed nations will also be impacted, not only Africa’s poor countries,” he revealed.

Flooding

Mentioning the June 3 fire and flood disaster last year which claimed over 165 lives, he said more floods are going to happen in the country if Ghanaians don’t change their attitude and behavior towards littering.

Mr. Adepa revealed that extreme flooding has beleaguered numerous areas in Africa which are caused by excessive rains as scientists say the current floods on the continent are nothing compared with what is about to happen if global warming continues.

He said Ghanaians must cultivate the habit of caring for the environment because the effect of floods does not only leave people homeless but also reduces food supply as crops and people will be washed away.

Droughts

On droughts, he postulated that intense sand storms have begun to occur as the extremely dry earth is blown by high winds up north. He said the droughts make it very difficult for the people to grow crops reducing their food supplies. These severe sand storms are gaining intensity and are occurring more frequently.

Landslides

The Environmental Health Officer opined that during his recent visit to the northern part of the country he saw an extreme drought that has lasted for a prolonged period of time which will develop into another hazard when the rains finally come.

He added that a new threat of landslides becomes present when the rains start to fall which can eliminate populations of animals and humans. “As the droughts and rains intensify, the severity of a landslide increases as well.”

Health Dangers

Mr. Adepa attributed the ongoing outbreak of Pneumococcal Meningitis to the effect of global warming on the environment and the fact that it is posing serious health dangers to the people of Ghana.

“Cases of heat exhaustion and other heat related illnesses are becoming more frequent due to the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by rickety vehicles and the burning of plastic materials needlessly in the environment without recourse to environmental safety techniques.”