The Ghana Mete­orological Agency (GMet) has advised Ghanaians to be aware of the health risks posed by the harmattan.

Harmattan is a very dry, dusty north-easterly wind that occurs on the West Afri­can coast.

In Ghana, all things being equal, the weather phenome­non can be experienced from November to March.

It comes with all the as­sociated risks, including the ones related to the health of people.

We think the advice by the GMet is timely and proactive.

What is left is the readiness of the people to heed it.

Truth be told that Gha­naians in general take such matters for granted and make it appear that the agency or any source giving the advice is wasting its time.

We saw how some peo­ple employed all manner of “theories” as an excuse to refuse adherence to measures to combat COVID-19 in the country.

We think it is about time people abandoned such reckless behaviour and adhered to such pieces of advice, particularly those that come as health warnings.

It is much of a gain to obey such warnings and relat­ed precautionary measures than to avoid them and suffer the risks.

We, therefore, wish to appeal to the public to obey the GMet's advice and live free from all the risks that accom­pany harmattan.

The benefits are enormous, particularly for those who have allergic conditions like asthma that can be triggered during the period.

They would be saved from the increasing or worsening pain and suffering which has repercussions, including the worries of family members.

Apart from the health risks, the harmattan period is also one of fire outbreaks, including bushfires with all the repercussions.

When farmers, for in­stance, lose their crops to the fires, the story does not end there.

That loss reduces the amount of food to be pro­duced in the year and once the quantity expected falls short, prices would rise.

That means the farmer’s refusal to take precautions against the bushfire has gone around to come and torment everyone.

This means that the GMet advice is for the entire coun­try, to the extent that the cautious among the people must point to the recklessness of the erring ones.

The benefits of that single act would do the entire na­tion good.

Let us therefore take all the precautionary measures to promote our well-being during the period, includ­ing taking a lot of water to remain hydrated.

We must wear face masks to prevent ourselves from inhaling the excessive dust in the atmosphere.

Harmattan also brings about cool temperatures, especially from dawn into the early hours of the morning.

This calls for the wearing of the appropriate clothes to fight the associated coldness.

One other risk of harmat­tan is poor visibility. This makes movement difficult, especially at night and even early morning.

The low visibility is a more serious matter on the road as it can cause traffic accidents.

At best, drivers should wait for visibility to improve but if they will not, then they should avoid reckless acts like speeding, leaving break­down vehicles on the road, stopping in the middle of the road, and having faulty lights.

We hope we all will avoid the harmattan risks so we will have a happy story to tell about the weather phenome­non this year.