Radio Miraya
2670: Miraya Breakfast Show: Heatwave from the environmental point of view
Well, if you're here in Juba, then you might have realized that we are experiencing a heat wave and extreme temperatures. Well, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry issued an alert yesterday warning the public to take proper safety measures during the extreme heat conditions being experienced. Well, the alert issued by the Undersecretor in the Ministry warned that the heat wave will last at least two weeks. It also calls on extremely high temperatures of 41 degrees up to 45 degrees expected this week in Juba and in most parts of the country. Of course, this affects our health and our daily life, but to talk more about the heat wave itself from the environmental point of view, we are joined by Yamach Hotmay, who is the environmentalist and the founder of Future Save Us Network, an NGO that promotes protection and conservation. Yamach, good morning. Good to have you on the Miraya breakfast show. Good morning, Savit. Yes, first of all, how are you feeling with the heat? How is the heat treating you? We were boiling for the last few days. Yeah, it's been really terrible. How do you explain this heat wave from the environmental point of view? Alright, heat waves, it's a term that many of us, maybe in the country or those who are not in the environmental sector, may not understand. Heat waves, of course, these are consequences, it's part of the consequences of climate change that we have been talking about and it's actually a global concern. Heat waves and a simple definition, it's actually a period of unusual hot weather or hot temperatures, unusual hot weather. We know we have been having hot temperatures in South Sudan, our average temperatures are between 22 to 35, the hottest in the year. But when it's hot wave, anything above the average temperatures, higher than the average temperatures, then it will be heat wave. Yeah, and as we speak today, from my weather of these allies, around 43 degrees Celsius or 42 later at daytime, so it's really, really hot. What could have caused these, I mean, we heard, you didn't mention environmental, the climate change or all that, but in South Sudan, what really caused these? Alright, heat waves are actually caused, as I said earlier, they are a consequence of climate change, which is affecting the globe. Heat waves, they are actually caused by air that is trapped within the atmosphere and this trap air with the sunlight because we have hot, the sun is so much here, the sun rays. So when the air is trapped in the atmosphere by pressure system, you know, especially in the humid and arid areas and we are almost close to arid areas. So the air is trapped and then it gets warmer. When it's trapped, this pressure system, they form a shield above and the air doesn't escape because we know in our normal physics that when the air is hot, it becomes lighter and it can actually escape. But now in this scenario, it doesn't escape. You know, there is a shield somewhere like a cup that is protecting it from going. So these pressures, they actually press the air downwards to the earth and when it comes like that, it doesn't have anywhere, it is hot. This is now when it becomes the air is very hot and the heat waves come in. And when you look at the region, like in East Africa, of course, it is hot everywhere, but South Sudan is worse, probably in Kampala, in Nairobi, in Kigali. It's not as hot as here, why? It depends on our altitude and also our position within the equator. You know, we are in most tropical site, the equator actually, and from the name Equatoria, it's actually coming from the equator and we know the equator is the latitude, which is the temperatures are very high at the equator. So for us, we're experiencing this thing, this one, because the equator is also passing through our country and our temperatures have been like that. So it's more hotter here because we also have a lot because, you know, heat waves are combined of hot and humidity. We have a lot of evaporation from our rivers that can also make a lot of water vapor in the air, which makes, which was in the situation of the air being hot. So we are in the equator and we are in the tropical sites of, you know, the globe. Yes. And before we look at precautions, the precautionary measures of what we can do, let's look briefly at the consequences of this heat wave, if continues like these and people expose. What are some of the consequences? Yeah, heat waves have a lot of consequences on human health. We have consequences on the environment and the landscape. It has on the animals, which is our wildlife. It has impacts on the economic and on social, you know, on our societies. So mostly now we, let me concentrate on the impact on the human health because this is now our concern with the heat waves. Of course, our body temperatures become hot and increase, they become higher. So if your body doesn't have enough mechanism of sweating or trying to regulate its temperatures, then probably a lot of things can happen. You will have your heart is going to be strained to supply blood to the part of the bodies. And which gives it, you know, it works harder, which can actually cause strokes. It's called heat strokes. And our brain, as the heart continues to struggle to supply blood, you know, it doesn't get to your brain. And if blood doesn't get to your brain, that's mean you're having not enough oxygen. So confusions come in or also you can get stroke, you know, and someone can die or else you get confusion, you will not function well, you lose your memory and you can faint. It also has impact on our skin. The sunburn is if you go really at 12, you go to that sun, you get sunburn, it can burn your skin and where it is, burn your hair follicles on the skin that are regulating the temperatures can actually be blocked because you already burn, you know, and that one worse than your body expelling out the heat through sweat. So that one will also raise your temperatures and people can get fatigue, you know. So yeah, and our lungs as you inhale in hot temperatures, this one can actually cause inflammation of our lungs, which makes it a bit harder to breathe. And with people having underlying diseases like asthma and cardiovascular diseases or even upper respiratory problems, then it becomes worse than that one and they're at high risk. But here also we have people who are at most risk are the children and the others, the elderly people, you know, which already their system is not really that strong to cope with this. It sounds really, really serious and dangerous. Let's look at it in the environment, to the environment and to our animals, you didn't wildlife particularly on all animals, how dangerous is it? Also is it like for humans? Of course, you know, our world or the universe is a system. Okay, so to our environment when the heat waves comes, their high chances that we may have rainfalls or else we will not have rainfalls, which will actually couple it with droughts. And when there's drought, that's mean our plants, you know, will be affected and we know the plants, they're actually the primary and key in our food chain. You know, once they don't get, they don't grow enough and they actually dry up, that's mean the food chain is already disrupted because it's from the plant, other animals that eat plants and then they're eaten by other animals and it goes on the chain, you know. So the first thing on the environment, the food chain is disrupted, which can actually now cause a lot of issues to other organisms that are actually relying on this. So we'll have droughts and when they're droughts, that's mean our environment, the landscape, the trees, the grasses and the rest within the environment are actually affected, including the animals, you have the microorganisms that are regulating most of our things in the universe. So all the ecosystem will be affected and the whole system of the environment because the earth is considered also as one ecosystem. Great. Now, as we have looked at some of the consequences of the heat wave, let's look at precautionary measures now. What do we do in order to minimize all these consequences? All right, with the precautionary, I'll talk in two aspects. Please go. We have the national aspect where a country has to prepare. So for us in a national level, for us now in our country, we are not emitters. We are not those major emitters. But in the other countries where they have high emissions, the first thing they have to do is actually to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases that are causing the climate change. But now in developing countries like South Sudan and most of countries in Africa, we are emitless. So what we do is the coping mechanism is not a mitigation now. We have to cope with already the impacts of climate change and coping with this one, it's actually for us to come up with mechanisms like having initiatives of having early warning, you know, because all of us, yourself, myself and everybody else, we were taking it as surprise. There was no prediction that was given to us early enough, because if there were predictions given early, we made half close schools or people will actually know by yourself and umbrella, don't work and there will be actually a lot of designation and awareness. So early mechanisms have to be put in place, you know, early warning mechanism, they have to be put in place by a country and then we have to improve our communication system. Like what we are doing now, when we communicate, you know, people will know and they will be better prepared for this. And then decision making, you know, the decision makers should actually employ strategies and policies to actually change the human behavior and adapt to the current whatever situation scenario phenomena that people are facing in our times now, it's actually the heat waves. So there must be policies and strategies like, okay, we are in heat waves, what are we going to do? How are we going to save our children or the school children from all these ones? And then we have to have urban designs, you know, even our setting here should be like we have water points where everyone can go and cool themselves, drink enough water and all this. Now on personal levels, which is very important, you have to keep yourself hydrated. People have to drink really enough water. Avoid caffeinated drinks, you know, the coffee, these are the beverages. We have to wear light, we are still wearing suits, we are wearing dark colors that are absorbing the heat more and you actually get one more, you know. For me, I will urge the minister of education to actually with alias layers with a metrological department and see how long are we going to face this? Is it just going to be, if we have another two weeks more, then they have to do something with school children because schools, people are released now from 12 to 3 and between 12 to 3, nobody should actually be exposed to the sunlight, people should be indoors or undershades. But you see our children moving from 12, between 12, they are most of them are released. So I urge the minister of general education to do something about this, otherwise we will have a lot of cases related to these heat waves and these small children are moving in the sun where temperatures are 45, 44 without a bottle of water and anything else. So you are suggesting that this should be a break for the children until they heat actually reduces. Exactly, they should focus, you know, we have to know if it's going for another few days then maybe they give a break because children are really suffering on the streets and then homes we have to keep yourself hydrated as I say, drink a lot of water, eat like something like water melons and eat lighter foods. Great. The question I had wanted to ask an expert, especially, and I'm glad you're here with us, can this heat wave cause fire, let's say boost fire, let's start from there. Yes, we have we have we have heard a lot in Australia, they have been causing bushfires, you know, because as the grass dries up, nature has a lot of wonders that you never know. Nothing can spark a fire somewhere or else it could be a fire from hunters in a tree, you know, they hunt, you know, the hunters, they hunt maybe left something, a small portion of fire and then with the wind, it can actually be poor. But there should be some fire at least left somewhere, it cannot just bite itself cause fire. Yes, there should be some fire, but as I say, nature has its own wonders, you never know in the bush there what can actually trigger it. So there must be fire, but in other cases, all the time you will not really attribute it, there must be maybe a hunter or something that has fire that triggered it. How about an ammunition store, can heat actually cause fire in an ammunition store? It can. It can. Because with the high temperatures, you know, ammunition, they have like these bombs, they have those things, you know, with high temperatures, they actually, because what happens there is explosion, an explosion you can expect it from anything, you know, when it goes above the normal temperature that they're supposed to be in, then they can explode and that one can actually cause it. Great. Now it seems like climate change is affecting, of course, the whole world and South Sudan obviously is not exceptional. What are the predictions for the future? What are we expecting? We know the Minister of Environment said this heatwave might last for even more than two weeks, but what are we seeing this year? Well, I may say the people who can tell us most is the metrological department when they predict our weather patterns, but as a climate expert or an environmentalist, the impact of climate change are worsening time to time, you know, until when the whole world has managed to bring the temperatures lower than 1.5 degrees Celsius, that's when we may say that we are a bit safer, but as long as the temperatures are still, the average temperatures are still above high by two degree Celsius, we will say that we are predicting more of this prevalence of these consequences of climate change, like heatwaves, floods, droughts and the rest, you know. So we may be expecting more because it's, you know, a probability, we are not sure. Indeed. Yeah. And as a country, what can we do, as a country from individual responsibility levels, what can you do? What can we do? Like, what can I do? What can you do to at least try to minimize this in future? What do planting trees help, what other ways can happen? Exactly. As I said earlier, the developing countries, we are coping with the impact of climate change. We are not mitigating that much because our emissions are insignificant. But it's still for us to mitigate more or to cope more with these impacts, we have to do some things, okay? The country has to go into a smart way of doing like a smart agriculture, you know. We have to have good system in place to cope with this. They have to allocate some funds for climate-related phenomenon because we don't know. They may come floods. We have people who have been affected by floods and until today, they are still affected. So there must be funds that are allocated for these climate emergencies, you know. And then as individual, as we continue to cope, we don't need, yeah, we said our emissions are insignificant. But it's still, we have a bit of it because South Sudan is an oil-producing country and we know the whole thing is coming from fossil fuel, you know. So one way or another or indirectly, we are contributing like this. Yeah, so people have to shift to clean energy, like make use with these hot temperatures, really we can make use of solar system, have a state and have our electricity in place and other renewable sources of, you know, of electricity and other things. All right. Yeah. Yamath, thank you so much for coming to me. All right. Students do appreciate your time, just your final remarks, please, and message out there. My final message will go to the decision makers. Let us take climate issues seriously. Heat waves, floods, droughts are all affecting our people. And we have to consider this and allocate funds, put early warning system in place for us to reduce the impacts of all these cutters off. Thank you. Thank you so much for coming to me, guys. I do appreciate your time.