It was just 12 p.m. in Accra, but the streets already shimmered under a punishing sun. At the bustling Accra New Town, Hawawu Abdul Karim, a journalist in her mid-30s, wiped sweat from her forehead as she drank from a bottle of water.

“Last year, the heat was too much,” she sighed. “I drank a lot of water, but it did not help—it only kept me dehydrated. How do we survive if every year is hotter than the last?”

She was compelled to keep bottled water in her fridge at home. Miss Hawawu, who was then working with Voice of America (Hausa) from Ghana, was required to produce quality stories for publication. This meant she had to hunt for stories via public transport under a scorching sun.

“Sometimes, I got home so tired, and my room was always so warm that I could not produce stories on time,” she said. Hawa added that she had sleepless nights, drenched in sweat, because of the heat. The situation became even worse when there was a power outage at night or during the day when she was at home.

Hawawu’s story is one of millions across Ghana and Africa, where rising heat is fast becoming a silent crisis. According to a new review by the India-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Africa is warming at 0.3°C per decade — nearly 1.5 times faster than the global average. In 2024 alone, the continent recorded an average temperature anomaly of 0.87°C above normal.

For Elias, a 36-year-old entrepreneur and farmer in Jirapa, the problem is no longer just the daytime heat.

“Sometimes, I feel pain in one side of my neck with off-and-on headaches. Later, the neck pain became so severe that I could not even turn my neck to that side. The heat was really unbearable—imagine sleeping in a room with as many as six people,” he said.

CSE’s review shows that night-time land surface temperatures across Africa have risen sharply, with cities like Cairo, Lagos, and Accra recording alarming increases. For families living in informal settlements with poor ventilation, the risk of heat-related illness grows each year.

Cities turning into heat traps

In Kumasi, Ghana’s “Garden City,” green spaces that once cooled the urban environment are shrinking. Dr Alex Nti-Kani, an environmental economist with Centre for Climate Change & Food Security (CCCFS), explained that rapid urbanisation means people are cutting down trees and paying for every open space.

“The result is an urban heat island — our city literally traps heat. And the poor, who can’t afford air conditioners, suffer the most.”

Across Africa, studies show urban heat islands are intensifying in megacities like Lagos and Johannesburg. In Accra, similar patterns are emerging as green cover gives way to concrete.

“By late 21st century, heat exposure could rise 12-fold – with 10–30% more dangerous hot days and 6–20% greater intensity in West, Central & NE Africa. Significant upward trend in night time land surface temperature across most regions of Africa between 2000 and 2014 increasing health risks,” CSE report titled - Too Hot to Cool: Agenda for action stated.

The energy trap

The demand for cooling is also surging. Ghana banned the importation of used refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioners in 2013 under LI 1932. These second-hand appliances tend to be far less energy efficient than newer models, often consuming much more electricity, which increases costs for households and puts pressure on the national grid. Nevertheless, enforcement has been challenged and old cooling appliances are still entering the market illegally.

The world wants everyone to have clean energy by the year 2030. This means that about 900 million more people in Africa will get electricity compared to 2020. As people get electricity and earn more money, many will buy fridges and air conditioners for their homes.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says the number of air conditioners in Africa could grow from about 17 million to 40 million by 2030. The number of fridges could also rise from around 80 million to nearly 200 million. Because of this, the amount of electricity used in homes could more than double—from about 160 units (TWh) to 350 units by 2030.

For Ghana, where not everyone has electricity yet, this will be a big challenge.

Experts say the answer is not only in buying more air conditioners. Countries in Africa like Ghana needs proper heat management strategies. These include expanding green parks and water spaces in cities, designing buildings that allow natural airflow instead of trapping heat, upgrading informal housing with cool roofs and shading, and setting up heat early-warning systems to protect vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and outdoor workers.

“Countries of Africa need Heat Management Strategies to reduce urban heat load through infrastructure development; expansion of green & blue spaces to cut urban heat; thermal comfort in buildings, Affordable renewable-powered cooling innovation and stopping of dumping of old appliances,” the report stated.

Already, Sierra Leone has adopted Africa’s dedicated Heat Action Plan. Ghana, which has led on climate-smart initiatives like banning inefficient fridges and ACs, is now being urged to go further.

Back in Accra, Miss Hawawu said she has little hope policies will change fast enough. “We hear big words about climate change, but here, we just need shade, water, and cool air to breathe.”

Without decisive heat management, she said, Africa’s sun — once a source of life — may become its greatest threat.