Located in the heart of West Africa, Ghana is renowned for its tropical forests, cocoa and rapid economic growth. But, in the arid north, where most of the country’s poor people live, land degradation and climate change have exacerbated poverty.
The drier northern areas have warmed more rapidly than southern Ghana. Overall, Ghana has experienced a 1.0 °C increase in temperature since 1960. Northern Ghana has only one rainy season, while southern Ghana has two, and annual rainfall is highly variable. Long-term trends for rainfall are challenging to predict.
Some factors contributing to Ghana’s warming include human-induced climate change, urbanization, and increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
The human activities, particularly, out-of-control industrialisation, the burning of fuels, the cutting down of trees and other agricultural activities,
Ghana’s mean annual temperature has increased by 1°C since 1960. By 2050, the temperature is projected to increase by 1.0°C to 3.0°C, and by 2090, it could increase by 1.5 to 5.2°C. The northern and inland areas are expected to warm faster than the coastal regions
