HARMATTAN

Harmattan: Causes, Effects And Preventive measures (Part 1)

The Harmattan is a cold-dry and dusty wind, blowing over the West African subcontinent. Harmattan season is a characterized with dry and dusty, and it has been discovered that Harmattan is a West African trade wind. The name Harmattan originated from or is related to an Akan cognate. Akan is a language spoken by Ghanaians and Surimese.

Harmattan usually storms the south from the Sahara into the Gulf of Guinea between the end of every November and the middle of March. It temperatures can be as low as 3 degrees Celsius.On its passage over the Sahara, it picks up fine dust and sand particles (between 0.5 and 10 microns).

Causes
Hamarttan is usually caused by heavy amount of dust in the air, it has severely limit visibility and block the sun for several days, comparable to a heavy fog. The sand stirred by these winds is known as the Harmattan haze, and costs airlines millions of dollars as it disrupt their activities which always results to canceling of flight and diverted flights each year.

Effect

It is obvious that Hamattan period is usually characterised with some dreaded dieseases, the Northerners in Nigeria faced this phenomenon heavily compare to the people in the south as a result, it has claimed so many lives. Over the years this phenomenon has resulted into spontaneous nose bleeds, it has negative effects on asthmatic patience, it aggravates cold, it causes catarrh, it causes severe crop damage, a good example is cocoa crop.

There is no season of the year that does not come without affecting people's live, but the negative effects of harmattan season seem to outweigh its benefits on human lives, especially those that live in the northern part of Africa.

To Be Continued