The Ghana Meteorological Agency has served notice of possible hikes in fire outbreaks and road accidents in the country as the Harmattan weather intensified.
According to a release by the Meteorological Agency, the Harmattan is expected to intensify from Wednesday, January 21, 2021 into the weekend as a result, most parts of the country particularly the north will experience drier atmosphere and poor visibility emanating from influx of dry and dusty winds.
This weather, the agency added, could lead to a spike in roads crashes and fire outbreaks. It has therefore advised the general public to be cautious when handling naked fires and when using the roads in order to safeguard lives and properties.
“The Harmattan is expected to intensify over the country from tomorrow, January 20, 2021 and continue into the weekend. Dust has been raised from the source region (around Chad) and is expected to be advected into the country to deteriorate surface visibility.
Due to the influx of the dry and dusty continental winds, the Northern half is expected to be drier with relative humidity of less than 20% and below 50% over parts of the Southern sector. The intrusion of dryness increases the probability of fire outbreaks,” it said in the release dated January 19, 2021.
It added “the general public is advised as follows:
- Be cautious of handling naked fires
- Be careful on the roads due to poor visibility.”
Already, the country has witnessed frequent occurrences of incidents of fire outbreaks from the ending of last year to the beginning of this year.
According to statistics from the Ghana National Fire Service, the country as of December 21, 2020 recorded 5,966 fire outbreaks, a increase of 4.9 percent compared to a figure of 5,673 in the same period in 2019.
The country also witnessed a rise in roads crashes last year although it was expected that the carnage on roads would decline due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
