Ghana Meteo urges public to harvest rainwater

The public has been urged to plan towards collecting as much rainwater as possible, towards ensuring that the high sanitary standards required to fight against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic is attained.

This is because the frequent washing of hands and the human body as a whole, and the washing of clothing, surfaces and all other objects that humans often come into physical contact with, was highly recommended by experts as a major means of battling the pandemic.

Mr Tettey Portuphy, Head of Forecasting Session, Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet), told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that when the country entered into its major rainy season, one of the best uses the season could be put to, was the harvesting of water to help fight against COVID-19.

He said rainwater was not hard because it was in its raw form and had not been processed, which made it ideal for the washing.

Mr Portuphy said cleaning agents such as soap, easily got broken down into ladder when applied with rainwater, because of the raw and pure form of the water.

He urged both individuals and organisations to find means of harvesting enough rainwater, because the current COVID-19 pandemic required much more water usage than usual.

He said although the country was generally expected to be in its major rainy season, the eastern coast of the country was not having rains because of the pertaining weather systems, which is causing the rains meant for that part of the coast to fall into the sea.

"We are supposed to be getting south-westerly winds in order to have rain cloud formation but for the past few days we have only had north-easterly winds," Mr Portuphy said.

He said an upsurge of dry haze in Burkina Faso had brought in dust particles, which were almost gone at the moment and added that cloud formation was therefore to be expected from the weekend.



Mr Portuphy said the western coast had however been experiencing rainfall.

Mr Portuphy touched on the current atmospheric heat and rising temperatures saying,"We have cut down a lot of trees and replaced them with pavements. Trees protect the earth from the direct heat of the sun."

He said the rains would naturally reduce the pertaining atmospheric heat.

The senior meteorologist urged farmers to also endeavour to harvest lots of rainwater, to prepare for land cultivation with an aim to produce enough, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said the pandemic had created significant shortages in the food chain, and it was important to make use of any situation available, to make up for these shortages.

Mr Portuphy also advised that gutters and drains be de-silted, to prevent unnecessary flooding during the rains.