Images taken in 1980s and 2010 shows that most hills in Manafwa District have lost theirforest cover in the last two decades. When Patrick Wasonsi was a young man, he could stand in the garden of his father on a clear, cloudless morning and stare at the forests at a distance. But last week, the 56-year-old said all the forests have disappeared and farming seasons have changed."In the 1980s, all these hills were covered by forests. You could not see the soil because it was fully covered by tree branches," Mr Wasonsi recalled as he moved up the Namukhokhe hill.

"But now when you look at the hills, they are all cleared and you cannot see a single tall tree."He says in the past, when temperatures rose, they knew that rain was about to fall but they no longer see it happen these days. According to the Ministry of Water and Environment, if nothing is done about deforestation, then the country is likely to experience more droughts. For farmers who depend on agriculture in the region, the change in climate coupled with increase in population has adverse affects on their production."These days, we no longer rely on weather because seasons have tremendously changed. We used to receive rain from February to June and from August to October but these days it is unpredictable," says Mr Wasonsi.

This has forced some of the farmers to practice farming up on the hills because of the cool climate and fertile soils uphill."The yield nowadays is very low because the fertile soils have been washed away by rain," says 43-year-old Florence Mantu, whom we met weeding her garden on top of the hill. She had planted beans on the slopes despite warnings of soil erosion and landslides. Mr Paul Isabirye, the principal meteorologist in the Ministry of Water and Environment says the rate at which trees are felled, accompanied with the increasing industrialisation has increasing the amount of carbondioxide and methane in atmosphere resulting into global warming. "There is increasing level of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere because of too much emission of carbondioxide gas into the atmosphere," Mr Isabirye said. He says Uganda's temperatures which currently range between 15 and 30 degrees celsius are likely to increase further.

He said approximately 20 to 30 per cent of biodiversity in Uganda is at risk of extinction if the world temperature grows by two degrees Celsius. "Uganda is likely to incur more costs due to loss of biodiversity, increase in disease, famine, floods and desertification," he said. He says areas in south western Uganda are currently experiencing mosquitoes in the area, a phenomenon that was non existent.

"When you go to Kabale where you used not to see mosquitoes, they are now there and this is as a result of climate change," he says. "When you look at Mt Rwenzori, the ice is melting at faster rate than it used before and this is because of increase in temperatures which is likely to affect agriculture." Mr Charles Wokule, Mbale District environmental officer claims that climate change was responsible for recent occurrences of severe landslides, prolonged drought and massive flooding as well as more erratic rain cycles.

"The trees that act as carbon sink are being cut every day for farming, exposing land to erosion and emission of carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere," Mr Wokule says. However, he accused politicians for failing to observe environmental issues saying they are the major stumbling block in the fight against global warming."We are trying to sensitise people about the effects of global warming but our politicians are the major problems," he says adding that government has done less in combating global warming.