Nigerians, Ignore Viral Message About Harmful Weather Conditions From a Non-Existent Agency

25 August 2025
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Muktar Balogun

Nigerians, ignore viral message about harmful weather conditions from a non-existent agency

IN SHORT: A message doing the rounds on social media warns Nigerians of "an extreme form of air pollution that is harmful to health" and claims the warning is from the "Environmental Protection Agency". But there is no agency with that name in Nigeria. The message should be ignored.

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has informed us that the current weather is not harmattan, but an extreme form of air pollution that is harmful to health" begins a message circulating on Facebook in Nigeria since July 2025.

The message claims this can cause "reduced lung function, respiratory infections, inflammation and imbalance of the body system".

Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn

It also lists several precautionary measures, including drinking enough water, staying indoors if possible, not eating cold food in the morning, keeping "your chest warm until noon" and always wearing a "nose mask".

Since early July, Nigeria has experienced heavy rainfall and cold weather, with the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency issuing flood warnings for several states. The agency evaluates and manages the country's surface and groundwater resources.

The same message appears here, here and here.

But has the "Environmental Protection Agency" sent out such a message? We checked.

No truth to it

If any agency in Nigeria had issued such a warning, it would've been widely reported by the press. But Africa Check found no reports from credible news outlets on this.

We searched the internet for the "Environmental Protection Agency" and came up empty. Instead, we found that Nigeria used to have the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, which was replaced by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (Nesrea).

Nesrea is responsible for the protection and development of the environment, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development of the country's natural resources.

We also couldn't find this message on the agency's official social media accounts and website.

This is not the first time the message has been posted on social media. There are posts dating back to December 2024. This is a major red flag that the message is not to be trusted.

All signs point to a fake message that should be ignored.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.
Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. X @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

Tagged:
Copyright © 2025 Africa Check. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.