Research shows rainy season in Ghana getting shorter

Research had shown that the volume of rainfall collected annually within the last 20 years in Ghana had not changed but rather, it is the period of the raining season that had shortened.

The research proved that though the same volume of rain water would fall for the next 20 years, the period of rainfall would continue to shorten, as the years go by, due to climatic changes in the country.

This was disclosed by the Executive Director of the Afram Plains Development Organization, Mr Modoc Awudu, at a Policy Dialogue on Climate Change, organized by the Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation, in Koforidua, on Friday.

The dialogue was organized under the theme, “Building partnership to combat climate change”, and was attended by traditional authorities, representatives of NGOs, heads of departments and some media personnel.

Mr Awudu said the research suggested that more efforts be made to educate farmers to adapt to the changing weather conditions, to avoid crop failures and disappointments of investors in the farming business.

He said the research was conducted by the Penstate University of USA in collaboration with the Geography Department of the University of Ghana-Legon and the Afram Plains Development Organization.

Mr Awudu said the research was based on data collected on rainfall patterns in Brong Ahafo and the Northern part of the Volta Regions between 1980 and 2009.

He called for the involvement of individuals, organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the fight against climate change.

The Eastern Regional Environmental Officer, Mr Robert Adu-Inkumsah, regretted that despite the improvement of education, to the benefit of many people in the country, environmental sanitation becomes poorer and poorer and often it is the educated ones who are the worst offenders.

He called for the intensification of education on environmental sanitation and its effect on climate change and the health of the people.

Source: GNA