The Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) has advised Ghanaians to be aware of the health risks posed by the harmattan.
Harmattan is a very dry, dusty north-easterly wind that occurs on the West African coast.
In Ghana, all things being equal, the weather phenomenon can be experienced from November to March.
It comes with all the associated risks, including the ones related to the health of people.
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We think the advice by the GMet is timely and proactive. (See story on page 8)
What is left is the readiness of the people to heed it.
Truth be told that Ghanaians in general take such matters for granted and make it appear that the agency or any source giving the advice is wasting its time.
We saw how some people employed all manner of "theories" as excuse to refuse adherence to measures to combat COVID-19 in the country.
We think it is about the time the people abandoned such reckless behaviour and adhered to such pieces of advice, particularly those that come as health warnings.
It is much of a gain to obey such warnings and related precautionary measures than to avoid them and suffer the risks.
We therefore wish to appeal to the public to obey the GMet advice and live free from all the risks that accompany harmattan.
The benefits are enormous, particularly for those who have allergic conditions like asthma that can be triggered during the period.
They would be saved the increasing or worsening pain and suffering which has repercussions, including the worries of family members.
Apart from the health risks, the harmattan period is also one of fire outbreaks, including bushfires with all the repercussions.
When farmers, for instance, lose their crops to the fires, the story does not end there.
That loss reduces the amount of food to be produced in the year and once the quantity expected falls short, prices would rise.
That means the farmer's refusal to take precaution against the bushfire has gone round to come and torment everyone.
This means that the GMet advice is for the entire country, to the extent that the cautious among the people must point the recklessness of the erring ones.
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The benefits of that single act would do the entire nation good.
Let us therefore take all the precautionary measures to promote our wellbeing during the period, including taking a lot of water to remain hydrated.
We must wear face mask to prevent ourselves from inhaling the excessive dust in the atmosphere.
Harmattan also brings about cool temperatures, especially from dawn into the early hours of the morning.
This calls for the wearing of the appropriate clothes to fight the associated coldness.
One other risk of harmattan is poor visibility. This makes movement difficult, especially at night and even early morning.
The low visibility is a more serious matter on the road as it can cause traffic accidents.
At best, drivers should wait for visibility to improve but if they will not, then they should avoid reckless acts like speeding, leaving breakdown vehicles on the road, stopping in the middle of the road, and having faulty lights.
We hope we all will avoid the harmattan risks so we will have a happy story to tell about the weather phenomenon this year.
