Daniel Anyorigya writes: Three tomatoes for 5 cedis, lockdown memories and rainy season

Arriving at the Osu market to get some vegetables, a trader leaned forward and whispered, “Three tomatoes for Five Cedis”.

This was a response when my friend asked the cost of the tomatoes on her tray. Speechless I was, as she tumbles the tomatoes into his paper bag and they weren’t even Navrongo tomatoes, mtchweee.

My inner spirit wondered if this was the definition of the lockdown of the urban areas to curb the spread of coronavirus. Nonetheless, we will overcome this pandemic and that trader will hear from me soon.

The rains have kissed our soil and this reminds us of our annual grief as our homes, markets, and offices become swimming pools for a pool party and our farmlands become temporal ponds with our crops overdosed with water.

Well, as we reduce movements and stay home, we can’t afford the luxury of our rooms storing flooding waters and our properties floating like rescue boats on a mission. We need to start planning to control the situation amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

The irregular rainfall pattern which is an impact of climate change can be addressed when we build structures to harvest our water and pay attention to the Ghana Meteorological Agency. Don’t argue with me on how weather forecasts from the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) never happened.

Death is inevitable, however, death caused by changes in the atmospheric conditions indicates the need to pay attention to weather forecasts from GMet.

The Ghana Meteorological Agency is an agent of both goodwill and doom as it predicts the good and adverse weather conditions which affect our lives and properties. Let’s transcend into fiction;

The clouds had gathered to release raindrops and Alaah, a middle aged-Ghanaian, hurriedly fills his backpack with his belongings to escape the flooding roads. The skies were lit with thunder lightning, and each creature assembled under its shelter for safety.

In a village setting, one will experience quality air flashing through the brick or blockhouses, with birds flying over the sky to stay safe and earth-moving animals running into their pens for safety.

However, living in an urban area is quite different as polythene bags compete in the skies, with fumes from cars and factories confusing the alveoli whether or not to exchange the polluted air with carbon dioxide into the bloodstream. This leaves you gasping for quality air. Well, it depends on the part of the urban area you live in.

Did you bother to check on the weather forecast for the next 48-hour?

Urban dwellers evoke curses and recite words to choke the skies of a possible downpour because the roads will be flooded, lives and properties will be lost.

Walking briskly to the bus terminal, Alaah jumps over underground drainage systems which have been exposed by flooding waters. The bus terminal was choked by other citizens and homeless people who were dressed in plastic to remain dry.

Smartphone users began searching for updates on the impact of the torrential rain on other parts of Accra. Their faces glowing with anxiety as the rain increased

Well, I can confidently say that majority of them had not bothered to check the weather forecast for the next 48-hours before leaving home.

After the June 3^rd disaster, our religious inclinations heightened as we consistently pray to the Supreme Being for protection instead of wisdom and sense of responsibility to change our bad habits of disposing of waste and building flood-resilient structures.

He jumps into the approaching vehicle when the bus conductor shouted, “Apaatanga ! Apaatanga !!”. Other passengers had to squeeze into the bus as the rains recede.

Scope of Ghana Meteorologist Agency’s (GMet) Work

The Ghana Meteorological Agency provides efficient and reliable meteorological information by collecting, processing, archiving, analysing and dissemination of findings/meteorological information to end-users.

Well, you might not have patronized their invaluable products/services despite being affected by weather conditions.

GMet provides a daily report in text and audio-visuals format on their Facebook page and website to bridge the information gap on weather conditions.

The Facebook page has hosted various weather forecast videos after its first video upload on Thursday 15^th June 2017. This information is not only beneficial to individuals and organizations in the agricultural sector but the general business community.

Weather Forecasts Information: Escaping premature deaths

These are a few pointers on the relevance of accessing weather forecasts.

Citizens are able to make informed decisions about the choice of clothing and extreme weather conditions which affects productivity. Protective clothing and sunscreens are best sought when individuals envision changes in weather conditions. To exemplify, persons with albinism will need to get sunscreens and sunglasses when it is a sunny day with odd temperatures. Asthmatic patients will need their emergency tools for a hazy day. Persons with rheumatism will need medication or protective cloths. Some people have died due to unfavourable weather conditions hence there is a need to get daily updates on the weather conditions.
Motorists and road users are able to plan their escape route to avoid heavy vehicular traffic, flood-prone areas and weak bridges and drainage systems. You don’t enjoy long waiting hours on the road before or after a busy day. This affects your health in the long run with possible cases of chronic stress. There have been media reports on citizens getting drowned in flooding waters with Kwame Nkrumah Interchange as an example.
District assemblies are able to develop climate-resilient structures to absorb the impact of climate change and disease outbreaks.