A Weather Update

Volta Region vegetation

The North during dry season. Notice how grey the
sky is

When you think about weather in Africa, two things come to mind. The first is that it is extremely hot and the second is heavy rains. Ghana is located close to the Equator and thus there isn’t the dramatic differences in temperatures that are experienced in Canada which is much further from the Equator. Depending on whether you are in the North or the South of Ghana, the seasons are different. The North has only two season with the dry season lasting from November to April and the wet season from May to October. The South experiences four seasons with the dry seasons lasting from July to August and from December to April. The wet seasons are from May to June and September to November. So currently we are nearing the end of the dry season known as harmattan. The dry season does provide some relief from the humidity of the wet season however the dust has become unbearable at times as the harmattan has become more intense. The rains have started again despite it being the beginning of April and it has brought some welcome relief from the heat. Western Region in particular seems to get rain fairly frequently as it rained briefly on the drive to the project site a few weeks ago and it rained as I returned from a trip there last weekend. 

The vegetation is very different than the
tropical South

The South and North also differ dramatically in climate. Tamale can often reach up to 37° during the dry season while Accra is usually around 31°-33° (a ‘cool’ day in Accra is around 28°). The North is very dry compared to the moist tropical heat of Accra. I found the heat less oppressive in Tamale despite the actual temperature being higher because it wasn’t so moist. I did notice that my skin was cracking from the lack of moisture in the air. The vegetation is different too. The lush, green forests of the South are replaced with savannah in the North.

Limited visibility in Cape Coast (Fort Victoria)

I have been really suffering from asthma in the last few months. I am coughing a lot more and getting short of breath. This is not completely related to the weather because the fumes from cars on the road are horrible and I’m breathing those in on my walk to and from the office everyday. I’ve noticed my throat is dry a lot and my skin gets quite dry and itchy. Trying to prevent dust from covering everything in my room is a losing battle also. I’m diligent about cleaning the fan in my room to reduce the dust being blown about.

Normally you would be able to see this Church
from Fort Victoria

The harmattan was fairly mild this year from what I have been told. There was only a week where the dust clouds were so thick that you couldn’t see things at a short distance. It was really unfortunate that I visited both Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle during the dry season because under normal conditions, the buildings are visible from one another. As you can see from the pictures, the sky is really grey and the visibility is limited. I wish I had taken a picture of the dust clouds when it was really bad because it was remarkable to see. It is similar to fog in Canada except that it is dust. 

View of Cape Coast from Elmina Castle. You should
be able to see Cape Coast Castle from here but
because of the harmattan you can't

Now that the rains have started again, it is a welcome relief from the dry season. The power should be more consistent as there is more water flowing through the hydroelectric dams. The sky is more blue than it was during the dry season. Predicting the weather in Ghana is fairly easy (most days are the same), yet predicting rain is quite difficult. The days where the clouds look like it will rain never actually rain. 

Tamale Fire Festival

I was fortunate to have been in Northern Region during the first two weeks of December. Nothing struck me as out of the ordinary on December 5th. People were doing their usual things, wearing their usual clothing. Nothing would have prepared me for the spectacle that was awaiting me upon our return to Tamale.

Tamale December 5th

Bugum or the the fire festival takes place in December each year in the Northern Region of Ghana. According to the internet, it is celebrating the arrival of Noah’s Ark after the flood. The festival draws people from many ethnic groups and religions (both Christians and Muslims take part). It is the view of many Muslims that because the Ark landed at night, torches were lit to allow Noah and his people to tell if they had reached land. An opposing view is that a son of a great king was lost during the night so people lit torches to search for the missing prince at night. In short, it is an important night for people in the region, regardless of their faith.

Procession in Tamale

As we were driving back to Tamale in late afternoon, I noticed that in each village we passed, children were running around holding bundles of grass in the air while singing and yelling. I wondered if it was some Ghanaian version of Halloween because some of the children were wearing white face paint that gave them a skeletal appearance. The bundles of grass are prepared during the afternoon as the festival takes place after nightfall. Part of the festival includes offering some of the dinner prepared for that evening to their departed ancestors. Families will pray for prosperity and good health for the coming year.

Procession through the streets of Tamale

The main event of the festival is a procession through the streets once the torches are all lit. People are singing and drumming and dancing along the street. The youtube video I found (below), gives an excellent indication of the festival procession so please watch it. I am assuming this person was fortunate (and brave!) enough to walk through the streets. As we were driving through Tamale I was able to take a few pictures. I know the quality isn’t the greatest but it gives some idea of the festival. 

In Tamale the noise was incredible for a city that goes very quiet after nightfall. People were setting off fire crackers and other items that made huge ‘bang’ sounds. It was really pretty to see some fireworks being lit, despite the fact that they exploded too close to the ground for my comfort! I asked (rather jokingly) if alcohol was involved in getting the crowd riled up for the procession and other activities and I was told it absolutely was. It was really cool to see people of all ages celebrating their festival happily and peacefully. It was an adventure trying to get back to the hotel from the small market so we wouldn’t get stuck in the procession so our driver took back roads to get in front of the procession. Part of me wishes I had been gutsy enough to try and join in however I enjoyed watching the procession pass by my hotel.

The internet also tells me that part of the festival is for people to test their magical power and to pacify the gods. Several news articles about Bugum indicate that people sometimes die when they try to ‘test’ their magical powers by stabbing themselves however I didn’t see any of that going on.

It was amazing to see that many people walking
through the streets

Regardless, I was really fortunate to have been able to experience some of the awesomeness that is the Tamale fire festival.