An ecosystem is a community of plants and animals living together and interacting with one another and their environment. An ecosystem does not have to cover a large geographical area. It can be as small as a pool of water and as large as the entire earth. There are two main categories of ecosystem, they are : terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem. Aquatic ecosystem is by far the largest of both and they have been impacted in several ways by climate change.

Climate change is a significant change in  climate over a period of time. The latter has become an issue of rising concern over the years. This has been due to rise in use of fossil fuels in our day-to-day lives and activities which leads to a tremendous increase in the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. Also, the excessive use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) has contributed immensely to the depletion of our means of protection from the harmful sun’s rays, the ozone layer.

Climate change has led to the rising of water levels in oceans, ricers and water bodies present in my country, Nigeria. This  is caused by global warming which leads to the melting of glaciers in the colder regions of the world. This melting increases the amount of water present in the nearby water bodies making it to overflow into other water bodies. Flooding and other related natural disasters in Nigeria occur more frequently now than before because of this. These disasters also present certain aftermaths; destruction and damage to lives and property, displacements of individuals and families to other locations and higher grounds. The latter leads to over population of the safe areas and as we know, that could bring several disadvantages to such areas. Some of these include, increase in the population of disease carrying organisms ( such as: mosquitoes) and spread of diseases like malaria, yellow fever. These diseases in some cases lead to death in the rural areas of Nigeria and those without proper medical facilities and equipment.

The extreme heat caused by climate change has tremendous effects on farming in Nigeria. Soils are becoming drier, organisms present are migrating or dying, nutrients also face the latter fate as a result of the extreme heat. Deforestation also plays a major role here as the soil is  kept bear and is vulnerable to erosion, leaching and many more. This makes it very difficult for farmers to cultivation crops and rear livestock. This is because means through which the soil obtains nutrients such as, soil organisms and moisture are not available. Alternatively, it leads to low quality and little yield of crops planted which can not be suitable for commercial purposes. These and many more have been the plights of farmers in Nigeria of recent times. 

Unfavourable environmental and weather conditions caused by climate change has led to the migration and extinction of various local species of wildlife from their natural habitat to other regions and communities. Here in Nigeria, a decline in the presence of species common to a specific region or the country as a whole has been observed. These species such as the indigenous monkeys, giraffes, squirrels among others migrate from the unbearable conditions to greener pastures. These species served many purposes, such as identification for the community and the nation, tourism which boosts the nation’s economy and migration/extinction will leave a huge void in the nation as a whole.

Listed above are a few of the changes witnessed in the Nigerian Ecosystem due to climate change.