The Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMA) said on Thursday that the country was gradually being ushered into the harmattan season and cautioned the public to avoid the setting of bush fires because strong winds in the presence of dry vegetation could cause rapid spread of fires.
In a statement issued in Accra, GMA said the harmattan season would be characterised by periods of dry and dusty conditions with cold or chilly nights and mornings.
It said: "People who are prone to cold and/or dust related diseases like asthma need to take the necessary precautionary measures and vendors who sell food in the open must take the necessary measures to avoid the contamination of food."
GMA asked hunters, children playing with matches, cigarette smokers to be very cautious saying the devastating effects of bush fires were
irreversible and irreparable.
It also urged drivers to exercise maximum caution on the roads especially when driving at dawn and in the forest areas because visibility
could be very poor at those times and places as accidents could easily occur in cases of poor judgement.
GMA said since November 18, dry and hazy conditions with reduced visibility had been experienced over many parts of the country.
It noted that except over a few areas in the Western Region, the country had experienced visibilities of between 3,000 and 6,000 metres
during the day time.
Relative humidities have also reduced considerably. Over northern Ghana, relative humidity values in the mid-afternoons have been between 20 per cent and 40 per cent, but low values of 18 per cent have been recorded in the Upper Regions.
Other areas are - forest areas 40-60 per cent; Accra Plains and Lower Volta 30-50 per cent and Western region 50-70 per cent.