Wednesday 3 December 2008

Harmattan in Ghana?

Is Harmattan here already? Every time a new season comes into play, I have an eerie night. Can’t sleep but there’s no sense of restlessness, just anticipation. Last night was that way. Since 2 I’ve been waking up and at 4.30 I realised there was no point trying to sleep any longer. Unlike other sleepless nights I don’t feel sleep deprived, just ready for the day (although I’ll probably spend my lunchtime napping!).

From my experience, the Harmattan begins around New Year’s Day, could it have come early this year? If so, it is time to enjoy our only non-humid season (great news for those of us with natural hair: this is our once-a-year opportunity to straighten it!), which unfortunately means lots of dust and cracking dry skin. Time to stock up on the "extra dry skin" body lotion: white cracks on black legs are so not a good look!

*"The harmattan, a dry desert wind, blows from the northeast from December to March, lowering the humidity and creating hot days and cool nights in the north. In the south the effects of the harmattan are felt in January." Ghanaweb

8 comments:

posekyere said...

Hi maya,

Ghana indeed has two seasons: harmattan and non-harmattan.

The conventional classification which is based on the amount of rain or the lack thereof is not comprehensive enough in my opinion.

Anonymous said...

That's what it is!!! I think you are right Maya cos lately i've been feeling that it's a little dry out there....

Abena Serwaa said...

Hi Maya, I think you may be right. I do feel a little chapped lately. Some colleagues just came back from a week in the North and they complained about feeling the effects of the harmattan in Tamale.

The Author said...

Don't agree with the rest of you. It's been as humid and clammy as ever. Take this afternoon for example. Accra was a giant, febrile forneau! Anyways, a big rain or a couple of medium downpours must almost necessarily precede the Harmattan, no? :-)

Maya Mame said...

Aaah, you know more than me, Posekyere (but I've already learnt to be doubtful of what I get from Ghanaweb). Will look up a better definition.

Maya Mame said...

Yes Anon, Sunday especially was a bit grey and dusty wasn't it? But it seems as if it is making a slow entrance this year, some days dry, some humid...

Maya Mame said...

Abena,
Isn't it funny that we can use our skin to determine when we enter a new season! I just need to look for white lines on my legs then I know it's definitely Harmattan!

Maya Mame said...

Nana Yaw, I do find it funny that after I wrote this, the day turned out to be quite humid! But I think Harmattan is slowly coming to our region. And if you need a downpour to convince you, my mum has predicted rain this evening, let's wait and see...

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails