AMA rolls out heat awareness campaign

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), in collaboration with Heat Resilience for All, formerly Climate Resilience for All, and CAPA Strategies, has commenced a citywide Heat Awareness Campaign and Extreme Heat Perceptions Survey to assess how rising temperatures are affecting residents across the capital.

The campaign and survey are targeting selected communities and commercial areas, including Makola Market, Kaneshie Market, Agbogbloshie Market, Old Fadama, Chorkor, Jamestown, Korle Gonno, and CMB, as part of efforts to gather community experiences on extreme heat and strengthen climate resilience planning in the city.

The initiative formed part of the Assembly’s broader climate resilience agenda aimed at protecting residents, especially vulnerable groups, from the growing risks associated with extreme heat.

Speaking on the sidelines of the campaign, the Mayor of Accra, Hon. Michael Kpakpo Allotey, said the move would help the Assembly gather direct feedback from residents on how extreme heat was affecting their health, livelihoods, productivity, sleep patterns, transportation, daily routines, and access to essential services.

According to him, the survey would complement the recent heat mapping exercise conducted across Accra, during which temperature sensors were deployed in selected communities to identify heat hotspots and understand how different neighbourhoods experienced rising temperatures

The Mayor explained that the selected areas reflected different social, commercial, and environmental conditions within the metropolis and would help the Assembly better understand the varied ways in which extreme heat affected residents, traders, transport operators, workers, and households.

He said information gathered from the survey would be used to strengthen Accra’s understanding of heat exposure, support evidence-based urban planning, guide public health interventions, and inform future heat awareness programmes.

Hon. Allotey added that the findings would also support the design of practical measures to reduce heat risks in communities, including improved public education, greening initiatives, cooling interventions, and policies that respond to the needs of vulnerable populations.

The Mayor said while the heat mapping exercise provided scientific data on temperature patterns across the city, the resident survey would capture the lived experiences of communities and help ensure that future interventions were informed by both data and the realities of residents.

Hon. Allotey said the campaign would also educate residents on the health risks associated with extreme heat and encourage practical preventive measures such as drinking enough water, seeking shade during peak heat hours, reducing prolonged exposure to direct sunlight, and checking on vulnerable family members and neighbours.

The Mayor said the partnership with Heat Resilience for All and CAPA Strategies demonstrated the Assembly’s commitment to working with technical partners to build a safer, healthier, and more climate-resilient city

He called on residents, traders, transport operators, community leaders, and other stakeholders to support the campaign and work collectively with the Assembly to reduce the impact of extreme heat on communities across the metropolis.