Nigerians know heat. We have always lived with it. But what we are experiencing now is not our normal heat and that is why warnings are coming from everywhere for people to brace up and take precautionary measures.
In Sokoto, for instance, temperatures are hitting 43°C. In Lagos, humidity is making 33°C feel like 40°C. In Port Harcourt, the air is heavy by 8am. The sun appears angrier.
In Anambra it is not much different. The weather is hot and humid. Awka is mostly 31°C, but feels like it is 36°C – mostly cloudy. Humidity is 70%.
Onitsha is 31°C is mostly, but feels like it is 37°C – mostly cloudy, with humidity at 70%.
It is this humidity that is making it dangerous, the kind of weather that triggers heat exhaustion and it is good to stay with water, be under shades and in light clothes. The heat is simply killing people quietly.
In the last two months, hospitals across the country have reported more cases of heat exhaustion, high blood pressure crises, and sudden collapse – especially among the elderly, construction workers, market women, and children in overcrowded classrooms. We call it hot weather, but medically, it is heat stroke.
Heat stroke does not start with falling down. It starts with a headache, dizziness, extreme thirst, confusion, not sweating even when you are hot. By the time a person collapses, organs are already under stress.
Nigeria is not ready for this. We have no national heat emergency plan. We treat heat as discomfort, not as a disaster like flood. That must change.
Thus every Nigerian is advised to stay hydrated and not regard drinking water as optional. People should not wait until they are thirsty, but should drink water every 2 hours. If working in the sun – especially people like commercial tricycle (okada) riders, bricklayers, traffic wardens, street hawkers – 3 to 4 litres of water is needed in a day. Pure or sachet water is okay. Too much alcohol and very sugary drinks should be avoided as they dehydrate one faster. In summary, less beer, more water.
People should equally respect the sun’s hours. The sun is most wicked between 12pm and 4pm. If your work does not require you to be under it, stay inside. Market women should make their umbrellas bigger. Schools should not force children to stay on assembly grounds under direct sun for one hour. That practice must stop.
On dressing, it should be done with an aim for survival, not just for fashion. This is not the time for heavy aso-ebi with inner lining, black suits, or tight jeans under the sun. Light-coloured, loose cotton clothes should be worn. Wear a face cap, hat, or carry an umbrella. It is not what we call “forming or behaving like ajebota”, it is wisdom.
Homes should be checked. Many Nigerian homes are heat traps – zinc roof with no ceiling, no cross-ventilation, windows that don’t open. Open windows at night, use fans, soak a towel in water to cool the body. Never lock children or animals inside parked cars or stuffy rooms, even for five minutes.
It is important also to know who is at risk. They include babies, the elderly, pregnant women, people with hypertension and diabetes, those taking amartem and other drugs, people working outdoors.
Why Amartem? Amartem is Artemether + Lumefantrine, the common malaria drug. It is not ”dangerous” on its own, but in heat period, it can make heat problems worse because of the following factors: it dehydrates you more. Amartem often causes nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and sweating. If you are already sweating from heat and not drinking enough water, you can get dehydrated fast. Dehydration + heat = heat exhaustion.
Again, your liver is working double. Both the drug and heat stress make your liver and kidneys work harder to clear the drug from your body. If you are dehydrated, the drug stays longer and side effects feel stronger such as, dizziness, weakness, fast heartbeat – which looks just like heat stroke symptoms.
It can lower your body’s ability to handle heat. Some people on Amartem feel weak, dizzy, tired, and can’t stand the sun well. They feel like fainting if they stay in hot sun.
Thus, those on Amartem during this hot period are advised to drink plenty of water, at least 3 litres a day, and should not wait to be thirsty. They should also stay indoors or in shades, especially between 12pm and 4pm. They should not take it on an empty stomach unless medically advised, just as they should not take with very oily food.
If you vomit within 30 minutes of taking it, tell your doctor or pharmacist, and if you feel very hot, confused, have fast heartbeat, not urinating well, also go to the hospital quickly.
These are among people that should be closely watched. If an old person suddenly becomes confused, talks out of point, or feels very hot and dry, do not say, ‘it is malaria’. Rush them to a cool place, pour water on them, give water if they can swallow, and go to the hospital.
Employers of labour must equally act. Construction companies, factory owners, and state governments must provide shade, water, and rest breaks for outdoor workers. No work should continue on a rooftop at 2pm in 42°C heat. A life is more expensive than one more block.
As for the Government, it should treat heat like it treats flood. The Federal Ministry of Environment and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET, have been warning us, but warnings are not enough. We need public announcements in Pidgin, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and other local languages when heat wave is coming. Cooling centres in markets and motor parks should be made available.
Also the following measures should be taken: directive to schools to suspend outdoor sports and long assemblies during extreme heat; provision of water in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camps and prisons. These are places where people cannot choose to leave the heat.
We may have survived the harmattan before now; we may have survived the rainy season floods. But heat stroke is different because it kills without warning. One moment a person is complaining that everywhere is hot, and the next moment they have collapsed.
Nigerians, this sun is not what we can manage. Do not challenge it. Drink water. Find a shade. Wear light clothes. Look out for your neighbour. The heat will pass. Let it pass without taking you with it. The danger is real!
