Abstract:
Global warming is an evidence today, and it
affects the whole world. Developing countries,
particularly West Africa, are very vulnerable. Not
only they have the highest temperatures, but they
are unprepared to face heat extremes. The region
is prone to extreme heat and this fact is certain
with serious impacts on health in general (humanbeings
and animals), infrastructures and crop
production. Heatwaves account for some of the
deadliest disasters on record.
Heat is one of the leading weather-related killer in
West Africa. But dramatic increases in heat-related
deaths are closely associated with the occurrence
of hot temperatures and heatwaves, these deaths
may not be reported as “heat-related” on death
certificates. In West Africa the lack of attention by
decision-makers makes it worse, it goes totally
unnoticed (death cause could even be attributed to something else). In fact, the Emergency Events
Database (EM-DAT) lists no more than two heatwaves in sub-Saharan Africa since the beginning of the
20th century.
Description:
A Thesis submitted to the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Climate Change and Land Use
