Hot classrooms, flooded streets: Researchers track climate risk in Accra and Tamale

A research project is studying how extreme heat and poor water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions affect schoolchildren in Accra. It is also tracking floods in Accra and Tamale using sensors and the help of ordinary residents.

Prof. Samuel Agyei-Mensah, from the department of Geography at the University of Ghana, presented the project, CLARITY-Africa, to the 2026 UK Media Excellence for Emerging Technologies (UK MEET) Fellows in Accra in October 2026.

CLARITY-Africa brings together the University of Ghana, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), Imperial College London, the University of Massachusetts, King's College London, and McGill University.

A region under pressure
Prof. Agyei-Mensah's presentation described West Africa as one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change in the world. It said temperatures in the region are rising 1.5 times faster than the global average. Other pressures it listed are severe prolonged drought alternating with sudden intense downpours, coastal erosion, rising seas, flooding, and wildfires and harmattan dust.

Heat in schools
CLARITY-Africa is examining how heat and WASH conditions shape children's health, comfort, and learning in schools in Accra and Kigali, Rwanda. The study covers 88 schools and 1,056 students in Accra and 61 schools and 976 students in Kigali.

Its stated aim is to understand children's lived experiences and measurable outcomes and then to co-produce interventions that are feasible, appropriate, and acceptable. The presentation described it as an early-stage project in which ethics approval and field protocols are central.

The researchers are using three approaches:

• Participatory methods: Children express their experiences through drawing and writing activities. One note shown in the presentation described how extreme heat makes the armpit sweat and smell, making it hard to hug a friend.
• Temperature sensing: The team assembles its own temperature sensors, which are placed in the study sites.
• Cognitive assessments: Standardized questionnaires, including the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC-II), measure learning, problem-solving, recall, and acquired knowledge in children aged 3 to 18.

Policy workshops are also part of the work. Four Accra markets (Okaishie, Kaneshie, Mallam and Madina) were shown as selected sites under the project.

Citizen scientists track floods
The presentation said flooding is driven by both natural and human causes. Natural causes include heavy rainfall, low-lying flat land, and the loss of wetlands and other natural retention areas. Human causes include poor urban planning, haphazard construction, choked and inadequate drains, and dam spillages.

In Tamale, the team is working in flood-prone communities in the Sagnerigu Municipal and Tamale Metropolitan areas, including Kalariga and Koblimahagu. Fieldwork includes interviews with sampled households, demonstration workshops with residents, and water level sensors installed on buildings to monitor floods. At a school in Koblimahagu, a sign with a QR code asking, "Has there been a flood here?" was fixed to a wall beside a meter stick so that residents can record flood heights.

Old and new flood areas in Accra
A map in the presentation showed changing flood patterns across the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, including the Odaw Basin. Achimota, Alajo and Agbogbloshie were marked as old, flooded areas. Abokobi, Klagon, Shaishie, Dzorwulu, Tse Addo and the Kasoa SCC area along the Mallam Highway were marked as new flooded areas.

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