Facing The Heat – Climate Change In Northern Uganda
Essay from Jeremiah Lucas Opira Memorial Contest 2023
Henry Watum
2nd runner up, Category 3
Northern Uganda is experiencing significant impacts of climate change, which include changing weather patterns, drop in water levels and increased frequency of extreme weather events like floods, as well as drought, whose social economic impacts makes communities very vulnerable. Northern Uganda has mostly a tropical climate characterized by stable rainfall patterns. However, the effects of climate change have turned the seasons around with the country experiencing shorter or longer rains and harsher droughts.
Northern Uganda’s climate varies naturally and is susceptible to drought events which have has negative socio-economic impacts in the past. Human induced climate change is likely to increase average temperatures in Northern Uganda. Changes in rainfall may be unevenly distributed and occur as more extreme or more frequent periods of intense rainfall. Regardless of changes in rainfall, changes in temperature are likely to have significant implications for water resources, food security, natural resource management, human health settlements and infrastructure. In Northern Uganda, as for the rest of the world, there are likely to be changes in the frequency or severity of extreme climate events such as heat waves, drought, floods and storms.
Northern Uganda is highly vulnerable to climate change and variability. Its economy and the wellbeing of its people are tightly bound to climate. People induced climate change in the coming century have the potential to halt or reverse the development trajectory.
Climate change is likely to mean:
- Increased food insecurity
- Shifts in the spread of diseases like malaria
- Soil erosion and land degradation
- Floods damage in infrastructure and settlements
- Shifts in the productivity of agricultural and natural resources.
It will be the poor and vulnerable who will feel these impacts the most, though climate change has serious impacts for the Northern Uganda’s economy. Exacerbating poverty, triggering migration, and heightened competition over strategic water resources, climate change could lead to regional insecurity.
Hot sunshine and dust in Northern Uganda during dry seasons caused by storms causes flu and cough among people and loss of weight at the same time. Hot sunshine also makes the movement of people and goods such as perishable goods like tomatoes, fish and vegetables difficult to move from one place to another. The hot sun also creates difficulty in cultivation since the land is difficult to be tilted due to loss of water from the soil, hence creating difficulty in growing crops.
The climate change in Northern Uganda also causes high temperature during daytime in dry season. Due to direct sun heating the ground, the water bodies’ evaporation rate increases, hence increasing temperature during daytime. This makes the lives of people and other animals difficult, forcing them to hide in shades and cool areas which leads to difficulties in movement.
The climate changes in Northern Uganda also leads to shortage of pastures for animals during dry season. In the dry season, there is no rainfall and due to this, there will be a loss of water from the soil leading to the wilting of plants including pastures. Animals wander from place to place looking for pastures, which leads to an increasing rate of road accidents during the dry season. Hence affecting the lives of people and animals negatively. On the other hand, due to shortage of pastures, it also leads to the emergency of game park animals such as elephants and buffaloes. This also comes from the lack of pastures and water in the game park. For example, in Kidepo National Game Park, animals such as elephants keep wandering from place to place during the dry season. These animals always destroy people’s properties in the societies of Northern Uganda. For example, the communities of Orom and Namokora always suffer the consequences of losing their properties such as garden crops, trees, houses and lives to elephants which always emerge from Kidepo National Game Park. This comes as a result of climate change in the region hence affecting lives in Northern Uganda negatively.
Climate change in Northern Uganda also leads to shortage of water, especially during the dry season. People in villages who does not having boreholes always travel long distances to fetch water for themselves and animals, and some people also share water sources with other animals which can easily lead to them getting infected with diseases that spreads from animal to humans.
Poor road transport due to heavy rainfall is a result of climate change in Northern Uganda. Heavy rainfall affects roads which makes transportation of goods and services as well as communication and movement of people from one place to another difficult. Since heavy rainfall hinders transportation of goods due to poor roads caused by floods and soil erosion, some perishable goods such as tomatoes, bananas and watermelons might get rotten on the way to the market. This reduces the economic development of the people of Northern Uganda, hence affecting people’s lives negatively.
However, even though climate change affect lives in Northern Uganda negatively, there are some short-term and long-term benefits of climate change. For example, on the flip side, increased mortality from heat waves may be decreasing mortality from cold waves.
In the short-term, farmers in Northern Uganda may benefit from the earlier onset of spring and from a longer warm season that is suitable for growing crops. Also, crops and other plants grow better in the presence of higher carbon dioxide levels and seem to be more drought tolerant. But this benefit is a two-edged sword: weeds, many invasive plant species and insect pests will also thrive in a warmer world. Water availability will be impacted in drier agricultural areas that need irrigation. At some point, the benefits to crops of increased carbon dioxide will likely be overwhelmed by the negative impacts of heat stress and drought.
In conclusion, climate change in Northern Uganda has more negative than positive impacts in our lives.