Nigeria fit record additional 31,400 deaths wey heat go cause between September 2026 and February 2027, according to one report wey the Onuesoke Foundation quote from the Climate Impact Lab. The foundation, wey dey campaign on climate change and how e dey affect the environment, warn Nigerians make dem prepare well as the country dey move towards dry season.
Founder of the foundation, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, talk the matter when he visit im community, Agbarha-Otor, for Ughelli North local government area of Delta State. He explain say the figure come as one unusually strong El Niño weather pattern dey intensify.
Onuesoke yan say heat wave dey come from climate change, and the main cause na cutting of trees and pollution from industries. Because climate change dey push more frequent and dangerous heat waves, he talk say long-term solution must include quick move to clean energy, planting of trees, more renewable technology and better management of natural resources.
For immediate action, the founder advise say make dem do health outreach to vulnerable people, provide cooling centres and places where people go fit drink water, protect workers and make health system capacity stronger. He also mention heat early-warning systems and action plans wey go allow health officials visit vulnerable residents, expand water availability and monitor symptoms wey dey follow extreme temperature.
The warning come for the same week wey Premium Times publish health watch piece on wetin people suppose do as extreme heat dey hit Nigeria, and Punch Newspapers also carry report on the projected heat-related deaths.
World Health Organization also launch new global framework to track how extreme heat dey increase health risk for pregnant women, newborns and children.
Research from the Department of Environmental Health for Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health show say heat no be just uncomfortable weather. According to Ready.gov, extreme heat na the weather hazard wey dey cause highest number of deaths every year. United States Environmental Protection Agency talk say average rate of extreme heat events climb from two per year for 1960s to ten per year between 2010 and 2020.
One nationwide study wey cover more than 73 million older Americans find say heat waves dey drive substantial increase in deaths every year. Researchers James Healy, Edgar Castro, Mahdieh Danesh Yazdi, Mary Rice and Joel Schwartz co-author the study. Other work from the school also link heat waves to more premature births and hospitalisations. Forecast also show say temperature go pass triple digits for many parts of northeast United States, just one week after similar heat dome cause deadly heat wave across plenty of Europe.
