Prepare for Worst Weather - Expert ( Front Page-1b)

Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah (Saturday, February 16, 2008)
Ghanaian scientist, Dr Emmanuel Amamoo-Otchere, has predicted extreme weather conditions in the country this year as a result of global climatic changes.
An expert in Geographic Information Systems, Dr Amamoo-Otchere said in all the climatic conditions, Ghanaians must prepare for the worst scenario, such as torrential rains, excessive heat, as well as severe dry winds, so they could adapt to them when they came.
In an answer to a question as to why the weather had suddenly become so warm after a brief period of coldness, he said the condition was not peculiar to Ghana but that it was a global phenomenon caused by changes in the climate.
“When the weather becomes hot, it could be too hot, and when it is cold, it could be too cold. When it has to rain, it will rain torrentially, and when the weather is dry, it will be extremely dry,” he pointed out.
He warned of more disasters, such as floods and drought, which he said no one could prevent, adding, however, that they could be managed.
Dr Amamoo-Otchere, who is currently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Development Geo-Information Services (DeGeoServ), prescribed interventions such as reforestation and a drastic reduction of carbon emission into the environment to reduce what he termed “the triggers of the change”.
He lamented, however, that in the short term, “nobody can do anything about the situation except to adapt for his or her own good”.
He explained that the earth's climate was dynamic and always changing through a natural cycle, noting that what the world was currently worried about was the fact that the changes occurring today had been fast-tracked because of man's activities.
Until his retirement last December, Dr Amamoo-Otchere was the head of the Centre for Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Services (CERSGIS) at the University of Ghana, Legon. He is well remembered for the precision with which he forecast the eclipse of the sun which occurred in the country on March 29, 2006.
The renowned scientist observed that the climate had not been so harsh years ago, adding that now that mankind had found itself in such a serious situation, “we have to adapt”.
He explained that institutions and groups all over the world were trying hard to adopt coping mechanisms with programmes under “Climate Change and Adaptation”, adding that the World Bank was also working out a Climate Change Risk Management Programme and advising nations to employ it.
Dr Amamoo-Otchere said as a Ghanaian in that field, he had been invited to a workshop in Tanzania in March to deliberate on climate change and vulnerability, saying that “when the climate changes for the worst, it is always the vulnerable, such as women and children, who suffer”.
“When there is no water because of drought, it is either women or children who suffer, since they perform most of the household chores,” he pointed out.
Dr Amamoo-Otchere added that women and children again suffered when there were floods which increased the spread of malaria and water-borne diseases, adding that in such situations, medical bills also went up.
He said it was unfortunate that many of the rich nations did not care about the issue of climate change, since they believed they were rich enough to eliminate the effects of the change.
He said it was not strange that some parts of the country had already experienced rain this year, since the country was entering a transitional weather period.