The climate of Ghana is tropical. [1] The eastern coastal belt is warm and comparatively dry, the south-west corner of Ghana is hot and humid, and the north of Ghana is hot and dry. [2] Ghana is located on the Gulf of Guinea, only a few degrees north of the Equator, giving it a warm climate. [3]
The climate of Ghana is tropical and there are two main seasons: the wet and the dry seasons. [4] North Ghana experiences its rainy season from April to mid-October while South Ghana experiences its rainy season from March to mid-November. [4] The tropical climate of Ghana is relatively mild for its latitude. [4] The harmattan, a dry desert wind, blows in north-east Ghana from December to March, lowering the humidity and causing hotter days and cooler nights in northern part of Ghana. [4]
Average daily temperatures range from 30°C (86°F) during the day to 24°C (75°F) at night with a relative humidity between 77 percent and 85 percent. [5] In the southern part of Ghana, there is a bi-modal rainy season: April through June and September through November. [5] Squalls occur in the northern part of Ghana during March and April, followed by occasional rain until August and September, when the rainfall reaches its peak. [5] Rainfall ranges from 78 to 216 centimeters (31 to 85 inches) a year. [5]
| Climate data for Ghana | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.1 (86.2) | 31.2 (88.2) | 31.6 (88.9) | 31.0 (87.8) | 30.0 (86.0) | 28.3 (82.9) | 27.1 (80.8) | 26.8 (80.2) | 27.4 (81.3) | 28.6 (83.5) | 30.0 (86.0) | 29.5 (85.1) | 29.2 (84.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 24.5 (76.1) | 25.8 (78.4) | 26.2 (79.2) | 26.2 (79.2) | 25.4 (77.7) | 24.6 (76.3) | 23.5 (74.3) | 23.2 (73.8) | 23.6 (74.5) | 24.2 (75.6) | 24.3 (75.7) | 24.1 (75.4) | 24.6 (76.3) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 13.6 (0.54) | 40.3 (1.59) | 88.2 (3.47) | 115.7 (4.56) | 160.7 (6.33) | 210.4 (8.28) | 121.3 (4.78) | 88.9 (3.50) | 133.0 (5.24) | 128.1 (5.04) | 56.5 (2.22) | 24.6 (0.97) | 1,184.1 (46.62) |
| Average rainy days | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 77 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 79 | 77 | 77 | 80 | 82 | 85 | 85 | 83 | 82 | 83 | 80 | 79 | 85 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 214 | 204 | 223 | 213 | 211 | 144 | 142 | 155 | 171 | 220 | 240 | 235 | 2,372 |
| Source: weatherbase.com [5] | |||||||||||||
Climate change in Ghana is impacting the people in Ghana in several ways as the country sits at the intersection of three hydro-climatic zones. [6] Changes in rainfall, weather conditions and sea-level rise [7] will affect the salinity of coastal waters. This is expected to negatively affect both farming and fisheries. [8] Low precipitation, drought and wild fires are also some major effects associated with climate change in Ghana. [9]
The national economy stands to suffer from the impacts of climate change because of its dependence on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, energy, and forestry. Moreover, access to freshwater is expected to become more challenging while reduced water supply will have a negative impact on hydropower, which provides 54% of the country's electricity capacity. [8] Additionally, Ghana will likely see more cases of malaria and cholera since changes in water conditions impact both. Stagnant water bodies which are formed as a result of some flooding occurrences, may support the breeding of more mosquitoes which will eventually cause the increase in the spread of malaria. [10]
In 2015, the government produced a document titled "Ghana's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution". [11] Following that, Ghana signed the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016. The Intended Nationally Determined Contribution after 2016 became the Nationally Determined Contributions commonly referred to as NDCs, which was reviewed in 2021. [12]
A 2023 report by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service noted that Ghana "is vulnerable to rising sea levels, droughts, increasing temperatures, and unpredictable rainfall which negatively impacts infrastructure, hydropower production, food security, and coastal and agricultural livelihoods". [13]
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