Sometimes the climate change experiences in this part of Lagos where I reside are tiring. Each season doesn't follow what we read in the book in any way. Let's begin with the rainy season we are in currently because it's been survival of the fittest.
I live on an island part of Lagos State, Nigeria, so here, we are known as the water area. In fact, most of the places people built houses here were sand-filled. Just know that we literally live on top of water with a raft foundation, which the builders use here.Now, the drainage system issue is already an established issue, coupled with the fact that the land hardly absorbs water. Can you imagine these two issues? So whenever rain falls on, just know that we are swimming in swimming pools along this street in Lagos. Then unfortunately for us, we have consistent rainfall for about 3 days consecutively; we will be on the lookout for a boat to carry us to the market or anywhere, or make use of our rain boot lol.
It's funny at times but really frustrating. Even in estates where their roads are well interlocked, they still suffer flooding, the type where cars float on top of the water. Then on local roads, the flood can be very terrible. Sincerely, we have rain boots here to navigate this challenge. I really don't like the rainy season because of the many discomforts it comes with. Another thing that is weird about this climate change is how we still feel hot from noon, and sometimes, it will still be raining, and we are using a fan due to the weather, and I begin to wonder if truly we are in the rainy season or the dry season.
Again, during the dry season, the heatwave makes it look like people are in hellfire. It's either you have funds to keep running the generator and make use of the fan consistently or suffer heat rash, discomfort during sleeping, and more. If you decide to wear lighter cloth due to the change of weather, mosquitoes will deal with you, and that means malaria fever. This time during the dry season , we wouldn't suffer flooding, people wouldn't be displaced from their homes due to floods, students wouldn't miss their school due to no access to get to school, and businessmen and women wouldn't experience interruptions like we often see today, but still, it comes with its discomfort, which I see as unusual.
My experience with climate changes in both seasons hasn't been too friendly, but I can't just control the situation but manage it as it unfolds. I think one of our problems here is the population; everyone wants to be in Lagos, lol. Currently I have somewhere to go, but then, I am scared of leaving my house, as I need to enter the bike, but then, our road is still waterlogged, and I once fell inside the water with the bike the other day. It hasn't been easy, but hopefully this season will end soon, and we can stop dealing with the issue of flooded areas while we keep striving to survive all the changes we see over here. So, not too biggy, but these are the kinds of climate changes that affect me directly, and again, it never got to the point of having to evacuate from my home.
This post is in response to the #hivelearners community contest of the topic tittled, CLIMATE CHANGE
images were taken from canva
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