Water is necessary for life and everyone should have access to clean and safe water. However, the sad fact remains that climate change puts our water's quality and safety at jeopardy. Climate change is a present day reality and occurs mostly as a result of anthropogenic activities, particularly the use of fossil fuels. Distortion of the careful balance of climate, weather events, and life is a common phenomenon as ocean and air temperatures rises. This leaves human health at the receiving end of several negative impacts from this change.
How It Happens
Flooding: Climate change results in heavier rainfall and higher flooding. More evaporation occurs in warmer weather, allowing the air to contain more water. Floodwaters can contain a wide range of hazardous pollutants. It can disrupt a region's drainage or wastewater treatment systems, thereby exposing us to bacteria, parasites, and other harmful poisons. This contaminates drinking water, as well as our crops and other foods.
Warmer Waters: The increase in surface water temperatures in lakes and oceans emanates from the rise in earth's temperature. Warm water surfaces provide a thriving climate for several harmful microorganisms. Some algae and bacteria are very dangerous to human health.
Nigeria flooding pattern
Flooding is a common occurrence in Southwest Nigeria, the Niger Delta, and settlements downstream of dammed rivers in the north. The flooding is primarily caused by heavy rains, which are common in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country. The significant flooding of Nigeria's coastal areas in 2012 had serious negative consequences, resulting in thousands of injuries, strain on health services, and a rise in water-related illnesses that harmed the health of many Nigerians.
On July 13, 2018, severe rains wreaked havoc over seven Nigerian states, causing catastrophic flooding. Katsina in the North West, Niger and Abuja Federal Capital Territory in the North Central, Yobe and Bauchi in the North East, and Ogun and Ondo Places in the South West are among the states where disastrous floods have been reported. Lagos State in Southwest Nigeria has also witnessed series of flooding events recorded over the years with the current cases occurring in July and November 2021.
Water Contamination
Rising water temperatures and strong, violent downpours are becoming more common as a result of climate change. This jeopardizes the quality of our drinking and recreational water. Bacteria and viruses thrive in these new settings and can cause a variety of ailments when they come in contact with humans . Animal waste, pesticides, and fertilizers are picked up by water runoff in rural regions.
The runoff brings pollutants and overburdens sewage systems in cities, resulting in untreated sewage flowing into drinking and recreational water sources.
Bacteria, viruses, and protozoa can contaminate drinking water, causing epidemics of diarrheal diseases such as legionella, campylobacter, and cholera. According to the World Health Organization, over 1.8 million people die each year from diarrheal diseases, many of which have been related to diseases contracted through the ingestion of contaminated water and shellfish.
The Nigerian Scenario
Annual flooding catastrophes wreak havoc on Nigeria's health system. During floods, water-borne disease epidemics such as typhoid, cholera, and dysentery are prevalent. Floods provide an ideal breeding habitat for parasites such as mosquitoes, resulting in an increase in parasite-borne diseases such as Malaria. These infections, which can be fatal, are especially dangerous to women and children. Flooded homes provide an excellent wet habitat for mildews and molds to grow on a sporadic basis, causing upper respiratory ailments in allergy sufferers and asthma attacks in asthmatics. The elderly and children are disproportionately affected by such health issues.
In north-east Nigeria, several cholera outbreaks have been observed. According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (Nigeria Centre for Disease Control) (NCDC)., 22 states and the Federal Capital Territory reported 31,425 suspected cholera cases, 311 confirmed cases, and 816 deaths between January 1st and August 1st, 2021. Benue, Delta, Zamfara, Gombe, Bayelsa, Kogi, Sokoto, Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Kebbi, Cross River, Niger, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Yobe, Kwara, Enugu, Adamawa, Katsina, Borno, and the Federal Capital Territory were among the states impacted.
The Way forward
The fundamental links between water quality and climate change are typically ignored in today's policy conversations and scientific investigations, despite the fact that climate change's impacts on the quality of freshwater systems are anticipated to be severe.
The impacts of climate change still have rippling effects that eventually affect human health, threatening our survival on planet earth, Hence, the need for urgent increased actions, collaborations, and co-operations to address this huge world crisis.
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