AMA to launch extreme-heat sensitisation campaign after vulnerability analysis identifies “very high” and “extreme” risk zones in Accra.
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Following new evidence that portions of the city are now facing “very high” and “extreme” heat danger, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) will launch an intense public awareness campaign on excessive heat and its attendant health and socioeconomic implications in the coming weeks.
Mr. Gilbert Nii Ankrah, the AMA’s Head of Public Affairs, introduced the campaign in an interview, explaining that a recent risk assessment report on urban heat in Accra highlighted alarming tendencies, prompting the effort.
Mr. Ankrah stated that Prof. Richard Amfo-Otu of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development authored the report titled “Urban Heat Stress and Related Health Risks in the Metropolis: Vulnerability Assessment Report,” which was sponsored by Vital Strategies as part of the Partnership for Healthy Cities.
He stated that the evaluation linked the rising heat load to climate change, rapid urbanisation, land-use changes, and the urban heat island effect, warning that heat hazards were escalating beyond discomfort to become a public health and productivity concern.
Mr. Ankrah stated that the planned AMA sensitisation effort would try to raise public understanding of heat dangers, particularly in hotspot communities, while also encouraging protective behaviours and supporting the assessment’s larger recommendations.
According to the report’s heat-risk mapping, high-risk zones encompassed the majority of Accra Central in the Ashiedu-Keteke Sub-Metropolitan District, as well as Korle Bu and parts of Dansoman in Ablekuma South Sub-Metropolitan District, and Kaneshie, including the market area, in Okaikoi South Sub-Metropolitan District.
Mpoase, Mamprobi, Korle Gonno, Abodwe, Old Dansoman, Lante Maami, and Opetekwe in Ablekuma South and Kaneshie, North Industrial Area, Bubuashie, Kokompe, Masalatsi, Quarters, and Awudome in Okaikoi South Sub-Metropolitan District were among the “very high” heat risk localities found throughout the three sub-metros.
The assessment identified Gbegbeyise, Chorkor, Mamprobi, Agege, and Camara in Ablekuma South and James Town, Ussher Town, Dudor, Old Fadama, Bukom, Adedenkpo, Agbogbloshie, and Kantamanto Market in Ashiedu-Keteke for “extreme” heat risk.
It further said that the South Industrial Area, North Industrial Area, and Kaneshie in Okaikoi South were the areas with the most harsh conditions.
According to the report, dry-season land surface temperatures in Accra have been steadily rising, from a mean of 35.5°C in 1991 to 36.1°C in 2002, 37.0°C in 2015, and 40.0°C by 2024. Hotspots have been growing around places like Kaneshie and Agbogbloshie, while cooler areas have shrunk into small vegetated pockets.
Heat exposure increased risks, including heat exhaustion, heat stroke, dehydration, and cardiovascular and respiratory complications, according to the assessment. However, it also pointed out that surveillance was limited by the lack of specific heat-illness coding in routine metro health data, forcing the use of proxy indicators.
Asthma cases increased from 1,174 (2020) to 2,112 (2022) before reaching 1,226 as of October 2025, according to the report. Additionally, skin-disease presentations and episodic COPD counts peaked in 2021 before falling by 2024 and October 2025.
According to the report, compounding risks like poor air quality, flooding-related displacement into crowded shelters, and energy stress that limited cooling were exacerbating the effects of heat, raising health risks and weakening community resilience.
AMA’s population density exceeded 12,000 people per square kilometre, and informal settlements like Agbogbloshie, Old Fadama, and Chorkor frequently experienced overcrowding, metal roofing, poor ventilation, limited green cover, and inadequate access to water and electricity—conditions that the report claimed increased exposure and decreased adaptive capacity.
Only 14% of outdoor workers polled changed their working hours to avoid peak heat, according to the assessment’s description of existing coping strategies, while the majority remained to work in harsh conditions because of economic uncertainty.
Additionally, although coverage remained limited, it was noticed that workers sought shade in bus terminals and coastal regions, and that groups of traders in marketplaces like Agbogbloshie and Kaneshie occasionally pooled resources to utilise fans or generator-powered cooling devices.
According to the report, climate change, urbanisation, poverty, and weak institutional systems all contributed to Accra’s “high and multi-dimensional” heat vulnerability. The most severe effects were anticipated among low-income households in known hotspots like James Town, Chorkor, Kaneshie, and Agbogbloshie, as well as informal workers, residents of informal settlements, the elderly, women, and children.
Full Report Below:
Source: newsthemegh.com
