CLIMATE CHANGE IN NIGERIA NOT A FICTION.by | 31-03-2014 06:45 |
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Nigeria is a beautiful country! Ever unique and dynamic in the things of nature. In Southeast Nigeria, during the good old days,we only knew of the raining season and the dry season. Nothing in between. The winter and summer mantra was not for us. The raining season comes fully between the months of May and October. Between the months of November and April,comes the dry season. We have followed this sequence so reliably over the years that one can easily predict the climatic conditions in each month. In fact,such was the predictability of the sequence that people even planned their ceremonies and events to suit the season of their wish. However, few years ago, there was a tilt in this sequence we all grew to know and trust. If ever we had been accurate in our prediction of the climatic sequence of our environment,this time,we lost it! Both in the timing and the accuracy of the prediction. The rains were not coming as supposed, the harmattan this year, lasts longer than usual and next year, it is shorter. The raining season now fluctuates. Even the months of July,August and September, which were easily predictable as the months with the highest amount of rainfall also lost there predictability. In fact,last year (2013) was a perfect example as heavy,consistent rain continued till late November. Consequently, the 2013/2014 harmattan season in Southeast Nigeria was as inconsistent as ever. The harmattan itself started off very late in December. It is so inconsistent that it was only the dry part of the season that we witnessed. We had to wait till early January 2014 to have the dry,cold and windy part of the harmattan season. As though that was not enough, the harmattan that just started lasted shorter than expected. People were wondering what was wrong and we were back to the dry, part of the harmattan and before we knew it, we had a heavy rain in that January which was hitherto unusual. Some wondered if it was the end of the world while others believed the end was near and to heighten their curiosity, the rain brought back the dry,cold and windy part of the harmattan that had ended prematurely. We went back to our wardrobes and brought out our harmattan jacket for the season was back. Again, the real harmattan season was short-lived and that was how it ended. Then,we had a few more heavy rains in that January and some parts of February, which was strange for people in Southeast Nigeria,before experiencing a long rain break that saw water wells dry up in most parts of Anambra state where I live. And that break was ended on the 27th March, 2014 with a very strong wind accompanied by a stormy and thunderous rain which saw people scampering for safety as they were taken unawares. I deemed it pertinent to narrate this experience of my environment which is now not following the sequence we used to know and trust. There is no other reason for the change in the climatic and weather conditions of my environment here in Southeast Nigeria, other than our attitude towards the environment. It is what we give the environment that it returns to us hence, since we,over the years, changed what we gave to the environment,the environment also changed what it offered us as it cannot give what it does not have. Now, it is certainly not the best of times for weather men in South east Nigeria as this increasing rate of weather inconsistencies render most predictions of the weather men an absolute joke. The earth is ours and ours, also, is the responsibility to protect it. Nonetheless, my happiness is that the situation is redeemable,it can be changed and I am glad to be moving the change. |
