By Eric Appah Marfo, GNA
Accra, May 27, GNA — The Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) has advised citizens to take weather advisories and warnings seriously as the country enters the peak of the major rainy season.
Mr Nana Kofi Opoku, Principal Meteorologist at GMet, told the Ghana News Agency on Monday that although rainfall patterns over Accra had not changed drastically over the years, rainfall had become highly variable and erratic, with intense downpours occurring within short periods.
He explained that while some years recorded lower amounts, other years experienced heavier rains within the same season.
“A typical example is last year, for instance, Accra had rainfall around 250 millimetres – very low for the same season. But with what we have recorded so far in this season indicates that obviously we are going to have more than what we had over last year,” he said.
Mr Opoku noted that the major rainfall season in Accra was generally showing a declining long-term trend, although the reduction was not yet extremely significant.
“Observations over the years indicate that there is a high variability of rainfall, especially across Accra. High variability simply means that let’s say you could have heavy rainfall or higher amount of rainfall. The following year you could have a lesser amount of rainfall.”
He attributed the increasing intensity partly to climate change, saying rising global temperatures were allowing the atmosphere to hold more moisture, thereby increasing the likelihood of extreme rainfall.
“When the atmosphere warms, it is able to hold more moisture, and the more moisture it holds, the higher the likelihood of extreme rainfall events occurring,” he explained.
Mr Opoku, however, added that flooding in Accra was not caused by climate change alone, citing rapid urbanisation, poor drainage systems, uncontrolled development, encroachment on waterways and wetlands, and indiscriminate waste disposal as major contributing factors.
“All these factors come together to make vulnerability in Accra very high,” he said, warning that increasing urban vulnerabilities could worsen the impact of flooding in Accra.
Mr Opoku explained that the agency relied on observational systems, forecasting tools, satellite monitoring and atmospheric analysis to predict heavy rainfall events.
He said the agency issued daily weather forecasts three times at 0500 hours, 1100 hours and 1700 hours, while emergency alerts were released immediately when severe weather conditions were detected.
Mr Opoku said forecasts and warnings were shared with key institutions such as National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Ghana Police Service, Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, the media and other key stakeholders.
He said the Agency also used multiple social media platforms, including WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram and X, to disseminate information to the public.
Mr Opoku disclosed that GMet was introducing a Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) system that would send weather warnings directly to mobile devices and digital platforms once alerts were issued.
Public response to weather advisories had improved in recent years, although many citizens still ignored warnings until disasters occurred, he said.
“Most Ghanaians normally do not pay heed to some of these things until the event has occurred and probably cost them in a way.”
Mr Opoku identified several flood-prone areas in Accra, including Alajo, Odawna, Circle, Kaneshie, Kasoa, Weija, Adenta, Madina and Malam, and expressed concerns that many new areas were also beginning to experience flooding.
“If we are not careful, we will have multiple places across Accra being flooded at the same time, and institutions like NADMO have limited resources to respond,” he cautioned.
He advised residents to move away from flood-prone areas when warnings were issued, avoid open drains during heavy rains and refrain from driving through flooded roads.
Mr Opoku also appealed to the public to stop dumping refuse into drains during rainfall events, saying clogged drains significantly worsened flooding.
He urged citizens to remain alert throughout the rainy season and cooperate with authorities to reduce casualties and property destruction associated with flooding.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Reporter: Eric Appah Marfo
[email protected]