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•As NiMet releases 2024 seasonal climate prediction
By Olakunle Olafioye
The severe heat being experienced in the country may ease off soon following the onset of the rainy season in some parts of the country.
A meteorologist, Mr Lawrence Osagie, who gave this insight, said that the rain witnessed in some parts of the country in the last week was an indication that Nigerians would begin to heave a sigh of relief from the excruciating heat wave.
Following the persistence of the heatwave in the country, health and climate experts had warned Nigerians against dehydration and over-exposure to the scorching heat as parts of precautions to mitigate the aftermaths of the hot weather.
With temperature rising to as high as 41°C, medical experts expressed the fear of possible surge in medical emergencies, which could result in fainting, stroke and even death in some extreme cases.
The onset of the rain in part of the country last week came as soothing relief from the unfavourable weather with a meteorologist confirming that the factor responsible for the heat is already easing off.
According to Mr Osagie, the hot weather as experienced in the country was due to high pressure system which seated over the Sahel.
His words: “The heat waves experienced lately is as a result of the stagnant and intensification of high pressure area in the upper level of the atmosphere over our region for several weeks.
“The situation which is characterized with stable atmospheric condition where there is little vertical/horizontal movement of air leads to the trapping of heat near the ground.
“Due to lack of atmospheric mixing and limited dispersion of trapped pollutants such as ground-level tropospheric ozone and particulate matters from diverse sources, the condition also contributes to environmental air pollution with consequential heat challenges such as respiratory track infections.”
Reacting to a question on whether the heat wave will persist in non-coastal areas, Osagie said that the heat wave is bound to subside following the breaking of the stagnated high pressure system.
“But now that it is breaking up and as it is breaking up we will be moving close to the onset of the rainy season especially in the coastal areas.
“The heat will ease out soon because the stagnated high pressure cell is collapsing.The basic cause of the heat is the stagnant high pressure cell that seated over us. Assuming the system was moving it would have phased out, but it was not hence the heat,” he said.
Explaining whether there is a connection between the heavy and torrential rain witnessed in Lagos and the heat, and whether it is normal to experience the heavy rain witnessed in Lagos last week, Osagie said: “To some extent, yes. It has been observed that slight intensification of the Saint Helena high pressure system brought in some moisture from the Atlantic Ocean.
“The moisture laden Southwesterly winds on encountering the trapped low level heat led to the formation of the convective clouds and the eventually the rain. Experiencing such heavy rain at the onset of rains is not abnormal especially at the coastal region.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted delayed rainfall in some parts of the country, especially the North-central states of the country in 2024.
The prediction which was contained in NiMet’s 2024 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) was announced by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to the document, normal onset of the rain is expected in some northern states, while Borno, Abia, and Akwa Ibom states are predicted to have an early onset when compared to their long-term averages.
Some southern states including Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Ekiti, and parts of Edo, Delta, Ogun, Oyo, Kogi, Kwara, FCT, Niger, and Kaduna are expected to experience late cessation, according to the agency’s prediction.
The annual rainfall amount is predicted to be below normal over parts of Yobe, Jigawa, Bauchi, Kano, Kebbi, Gombe, Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, Benue, Enugu, Ebonyi, Cross River, Delta and Bayelsa, the annual rainfall amount is predicted to be below normal when compared to their long term normal.
