When is harmattan season in nigeria

Harmattan season in Nigeria. The Harmattan season is characterised by dry, draughty air, dust and cold. Heres how to survive the intense weather. Recommended articles. Here are some tips on how to survive harmattan.

Stay hydrated. Adjust outfits. Take vitamin C. Be careful with fires. Avoid dusty areas. Wear protective hairstyles. Avoid flying. That time of the year is normally characterised by high temperatures, scorching sun and heat wave. The rains, however, precipitated a fairly pronounced harmattan season, which is pointedly missing this year. While the hot weather is generally attributed to climate change, the authorities in the country, sadly, are not adequately responding to its creeping devastations.

In view of the serious portent, it is high time Nigeria becomes more proactive. Annually, the seasonal harmattan phenomenon begins from late December, peaks in mid January and wanes by end of February. The associated weather condition impacts on agriculture, health and socio-economic life in the country.

This year has been different. Under normal harmattan season, air travels are unpredictable as booked flights are highly prone to cancellations or delay, depending on air visibility. The harmattan disrupts the services of many struggling airlines which, this year has been thankful for the respite provided by low harmattan.

Surprisingly, the Nigeria Meteorological Service NiMet appears to be silent with regard to the unusual situation. On their part, members of the public have simply alluded to climate change as explanation for the experience.

At a time people should be feeling chilly, Nigerians are complaining of heat day and night. Indeed, the situation is causing concern across the country as meteorologists and medical experts warn of its dangers on human and natural resources. For instance, from an average temperature of 33 degree Celsius and 70 per cent humidity in Lagos to 39 degree Celsius and 11 per cent humidity in Maiduguri, excessive sweating and heat rashes are rampart these days, especially among children.

Akin Osibogun, reportedly said the issues of climate change globally had caused weather changes. The changes, he said, would affect agricultural production and subsequently nutritional status and health.

Dajab DD. Perspectives on the effects of Harmattan on radio frequency waves. J Appl Sci Res ; Akeredolu F. Atmospheric environment problems in Nigeria — An overview. Atmos Environ ; Ochei MC, Adenola E. Variability of Harmattan dust Haze over Northern Nigeria. J Pollut ; Experimental study on the impact of weather conditions on wide code division multiple access signals in Nigeria.

Eng Technol Appl Sci Res ; Ojaide T. The Tale of the Harmattan. London, United Kingdom: Kraft Books; Desert dust impacts on human health: An alarming worldwide reality and a need for studies in West Africa.

Int J Biometeorol ; Elemental composition of Nigerian Harmattan dust. J Radioanal Nucl Chem ; Adefolalu DO. On bioclimatological aspects of Harmattan dust haze in Nigeria. Spectral solar irradiance under Harmattan conditions. Renew Energy ; Other mechanistic explanations for rises in blood pressure as enunciated by Cuspidi et al. Additionally, the intensity of dust haze reduces the quantum of ultraviolet rays of the sun during Harmattan.

This reduction results in low temperatures in the environment that reduces vitamin D3 and parathormone production with attendant hypertension. These perturbations significantly contribute to myocardial infarction MI and CVA, which arise during this season. They also create a dilemma for the cardiologist who does not know how to respond to these increases with drugs that could give rise to the problems when the weather warms.

Heart failure HF admissions are also known to increase during the cold season. The reduced sweating and insensible fluid loss that contribute to elevated blood pressure also result in fluid overload, resulting in HF. Those patients already in chronic HF are bound to decompensate due to elevation of blood pressure and its variability. The arrhythmogenicity trigger potential of cold weather 20 , 21 also results in acute HF or acute exacerbation of chronic stable HF.

In cold weather, hemodynamic change in increased heart rate and total peripheral resistance with a fall in cardiac output result in acute pulmonary edema, especially in the background of hypertension or ventricular disease. Neuroendocrine and metabolic function changes have been reported to operate, especially with regard to thyroid and adrenal function. There is a widely held albeit faulty view that it is beneficial to use alcohol when the weather is cold to keep warm.

In our immediate environment, patronage of local brew parlours tends to rise during this period. Rather than warming the body, the ultimate effect of alcohol is hypothermia. Initially, users of alcohol may feel warm as cutaneous vessels dilate, but the long-term effect is egress of warmth from the core to the periphery. The alcohol used triggers arrhythmias and depresses the myocardium, the result of which is HF.

Alcohol use and low temperature disrupt sleep and could thereby adversely impact cardiovascular health. Another related social habit that increased in cold weather is smoking, again erroneously for the purpose of keeping warm. Cigarette smoking through its effect on vessels, oxygenation of hemoglobin, and hemorheology as well as chronic bronchitis burden the heart, resulting in HF. Smoking has been shown to increase seasonal changes in blood pressure.

This is associated with physical inactivity that is longer over this period in West Africa because the nights are longer than the day, due to the position of the sun in the Southern Hemisphere. This promotes overeating with consequent obesity, which burdens the cardiovascular system. In low temperatures, the respiratory tract is dried of mucus and the bare epithelium loses its first line of defense.

There is a proneness to infections primarily viral, which increase platelet stickiness, thrombus formation, and hypercoagulability of the blood due to cytokines and other inflammatory factors elaborated. These increase morbidity and mortality. There is also a worsening of the airway disease with significant background low-grade inflammation. Again in cold weather, the lipid profile becomes atherogenic also increasing atherosclerosis. This results in seasonal blood pressure and cardiovascular disease CVD morbidity and mortality being attenuated if not completely abolished.

The benefit of greater warmth is counteracted by the smoke that brings about cough, infection, and obstructive airway disease. The inflammation, secondary polycythemia, and pulmonary hypertension conjointly produce cardiovascular diseases. The Harmattan is not only associated with low temperature, but it also involves pollution of the atmosphere by the dust-laden northeast trade winds blowing across the Sahara desert.

The bulk of elemental content of the dust is silicon. This creates de novo hypertension or worsens existing hypertension, which may even result in catastrophic events such as HF, CVA, and MI.

Hypertensives with diabetes face a worse version of this. There is usually a lag period, which has been shown in some studies to be a minimum of 15 days. The inhalation of these particles in the context of dry mucosa and ciliae disabled by cold results in infections, which adversely affect both the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. If the inhalation becomes sustained many weeks in the Harmattan season , there is an increased risk of cardiorespiratory disease. Atmospheric dust pollution in the Harmattan varies in quantum from day to day.

However, this does not constitute a respite for the cardiorespiratory system because low-level silica exposure under the acceptable limit is still associated with increased risk of mortality from pulmonary and ischemic heart diseases. The low temperature of the Harmattan and atmospheric dust pollution combine to produce an amplified deleterious effect on the cardiovascular system.

Increased mortality as reported in the work by Zanobetti and Peters 36 has been linked to exposure to colder weather conditions.