By Gbadamosi Precious Oluwagbemisola
Nigeria’s rising temperature over decades is alarming. According to the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Nigeria’s average temperature has skyrocketed to 1.5 C, which makes our food, water and even air a breeding space for harmful bacteria.
Nigeria is a tropical country in West Africa, located between the Sahel region in the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the south. While its northern borders approach the fringes of the Sahara Desert, most of Nigeria experiences a tropical climate with distinct wet and dry seasons.
Therefore, the average daily temperature in Nigeria is now above 44 C. The heat wave is also above 40C and the relative humidity is as high as 50%. This unexpected increase in temperature, heat wave and relative humidity affects our health.
Furthermore, this increase in heat is caused by the excess emission of CO2 gas into the atmosphere. Researchers predicted that “this would cause climate change that would greatly affect our health,” but people paid little or no attention to this warning. Excess CO2 gas increases temperature, produces more heat which fuels the growth of bacteria causes infectious diseases.
Campbell Biology defines bacteria as tiny single-felled living organisms that can be found everywhere. Some are helpful, like those that help in aiding digestion, while they are harmful, causing infectious diseases. They multiply quickly and can survive in various environments.
The Science: How Heat and Humidity Boost Bacteria
How often do people die from infectious diseases caused by bacteria? Every 34 seconds, someone dies from antibiotics-resistant bacterial infections worldwide.
Heat greatly yields bacterial growth/ increase. Bacteria’ growth and survival depend on many parameters related to the bacteria strain and environment (temperature and relative humidity).
An experiment performed by the Nigeria Institute of Health (NHIS) using pork meat in China confirmed that bacteria thrive and multiply rapidly in high-temperature, high-humidity conditions. Similarly, at home, bacteria commonly colonise enclosed, damp spaces like kitchen cabinets and wardrobes, where warmth, moisture, and organic residues create ideal breeding grounds for contamination.
Types of Bacteria that Thrive in Temperate Regions like Nigeria
The following are the bacterias that are found in high temperate regions like Nigeria:
- Mesophile: They are groups of bacteria that thrive in temperate regions. Most of them are of the pathogenic kinds of bacteria. Pathogenic bacterias are found mostly in the body/human environment and decaying organic matter between 20 C- 45 C.
Example: Escherichia Coli (E. Coli)
- Thermophiles: Thermophiles are bacterias that love high heat from 45 C to 80 C. The common optimum temperature they thrive in is 60 C. They are also harmful and found in hot springs or compost.
Example: Geobacilius Sterotgermophilus
- Hyperthermophile: They love a very high temperature range. They are found in hydrothermal vents and volcanic areas. Their optimum range is also between 80 C – 122 C.
Example: Thermococcus Celer
It’s essential to note that temperature, heat and humidity play a vital role in the growth and survival of bacteria.
Nevertheless, bacterias that love cold environments are called Psychrophiles, which range from -10 C to 10 C. They are mostly found in a 4 C environment. Example: Polaromonas Vacuolata.
However, a Mesophile won’t survive in a Psychrophilic environment. This occurs so they can eliminate competition for nutrients, space, habitat, etc. The difference in temperature range is an evolutionary advantage. So, the rapid spread of bacteria due to heat and humidity causes severe consequences for human health and our environment.
Real-World Consequences in Nigeria
In Nigeria, heat and humidity spreads infectious diseases faster than usual. This increase is common in February and March. These are evident in the following areas:
- Food-borne Outbreaks: Street food spoilage in Lagos/Kano is mostly caused by poor urban policies and a high rate of electricity, while some lack poor refrigeration facilities. Consumption of spoilt food is also the ingestion of bacteria, causing diseases like Cholera, dysentery etc. with symptoms like nausea and vomiting.
Example: 2022 Lassa fever surge linked to rodents seeking cooler homes
- Water Contamination: At warmer temperatures, more algae bloom in ponds, choking fish and poisoning water. Therefore, killing water lives. However, some water is poorly treated, causing some bactericide-resistant bacterias to go into the channelled water bodies, harming aquatic lives.
- Airborne Contamination: Bacterias are also in the air we breathe in and in dust. When air is trapped, bacterias even multiply into colonies.
Example: Contacting tuberculosis through the air breathed in.
- Skin Infection: There are bacterias on our skin. During an experiment done with a swab stick used to touch the skin, it was evident that several bacterias live on our skin too. They can cause skin infections like heat rash caused by Staphylococcus and fungal infections.
Who’s Most at Risk?
Those mostly affected by infectious diseases caused by bacteria are:
- Children and Elderly: The vulnerable populations have weaker immune systems. Their immune system does not resist diseases easily, and they tend to contact disease faster.
- Low-Income Communities: The majority of Nigerians don’t use Air Conditioners. They depend on fans when the electricity is restored. They also depend on open food markets where food substances can trap bacterias in the air and be consumed in the food. Also, the absence of refrigeratory facilities makes Nigerians open food halfwayto avoid spoilage. They also rely on stored water in drums or buckets.
- Rural Areas: Our rural areas are far from clinics. Some communities even lack primary healthcare facilities, which increases the chances of death from an infectious disease through late delivery of healthcare. There is also limited health education and poor awareness about how bacteria spread, causing diseases.
- Farmers: Bacteria cause devastating crop diseases in Nigeria, severely impacting farmers through reduced yields and income. Examples include Bacterial Leaf Blight in rice (common in Niger Delta and Northwest) and Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (prevalent in Southeast and South-South). These diseases spread fastest in warm, humid regions, often forcing farmers to abandon entire fields or rely on costly, unsustainable chemical treatments. (Sources: IITA Nigeria, FAO Reports on Crop Diseases)
Together, we can reduce these risks and the number of deaths caused by pathogens in our environment.
Solutions: Fighting Bacteria in Hotter Nigeria
Below are the ways of fighting bacteria in Nigeria:
Individual Actions:
- Boil or store water properly and avoid leaving food uncovered.
- Use sanitisers to disinfect surfaces in humid weather.
Policy/ Community Measures
- Governments should always ensure food safety for market stalls.
- NGOs in Nigeria should distribute clay pot coolers (natural refrigerators)
Public Awareness:
- Teach Danger Zone (zones above 5 C to 60 C) where bacterias grow faster.
- Television shows should be held to combat the effect of heat and humidity on health.
- Clubs like “Bacteria Eradication Club” should be made mandatory in schools to teach the younger generations.
How the climate affects disease in Nigeria
- Tropical monsoon climate in the south, e.g., Lagos.
- Tropical Savannah Climate for most Central regions, e.g., Benin.
- A Sahelian hot and semi-arid climate in the north of the country, e.g., Kano.
Climate change has made some places hotter than usual in Nigeria. States like Kwara state, Kano, Sokoto, Maiduguri and Lagos experience extreme heat. The following diseases are prevalent in these areas.
- Diarrhoea: Caused by Escherichia coli (E. Coli). Common in children.
- Cholera: Caused by Vibrio Cholera causes cholera and severe watery diarrhoea.
- Typhoid: Caused by Salmonella causes food poisoning.
- Diphtheria: Caused by Corynebacterium Diphtheria, which spreads through respiratory droplets (like coughing and sneezing).
- Asthma: It is a respiratory disease caused by bacterial infections like Chlamydia Pneumonia or mycoplasma pneumonia.
Why does food spoil faster in Nigeria’s heat?
Food soil faster in Nigeria because the bacterias multiply easily in heat, unlike cool temperatures. This hastens food decay. Some bacterias also live in uncooked food substances like raw rice and heat makes them increase rapidly. Consumption of this decayed food leads to food poisoning.
Gbadamosi Precious Oluwagbemisola blends her Public Health Science studies (Kwara State University, Malete) with content writing expertise in health, tech, and education. Her communication skills were recently honed through competitive impromptu speaking at the FAHESSA event.
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