Accra after Sunset: El Niño, a heating city and the sky above us

Source: MyJoyOnline · 2026-11-12T00:21:49.000Z · World

The sun has gone down, but the room still feels hot. The fan is running, yet sleep does not come easily. Outside, people seek relief on verandas, in compound yards and along the roadside. For anyone who has spent such an evening in Accra, the question is simple: why does sunset bring so little comfort? That question has become more urgent. On 30 October 2026, the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) warned that a very strong and still intensifying El Niño is developing, and that Ghana should prepare for a hotter, drier and dustier dry season. Heat stress is expected to peak between February and April 2027, especially in the north. The ocean data behind that warning are striking. In mid-October, the weekly Niño 3.4 index, the standard measure of El Niño, reached +3.3°C. Scientists classify anything above +2.0°C as "very strong."

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