Climate change may impact Calabar Carnival negatively_ Environmentalist
A University don and environmentalist, Dr. Innameti Idem has raised alarm over the scourge of pollution of the environment saying that if concerted effort to mitigate it is not done, the thrills of hosting Africa’s largest street party, Calabar Carnival may be a mirage.
Idem who is the former Head of Department of Geography and Regional Planning, in the faculty of Social Sciences, University of Calabar stated this while fielding questions from newsmen in Calabar on Sunday November 19, 2023.
He said since our air is gravely damaged due to climate change arising from its continues pollution, it is likely there could be heavy rain in December which may affect the festivity.
“We do not need to be environmentalist to know that something is greatly wrong with our planet as the ozone layer has been dangerously depleted with poisonous gas from automobile engines flaring by petroleum and manufacturing industries” he said and called for alternatives of using electric-cum-gas vehicles with government effort of providing citizens with modern cooking stoves to reduce air pollution from organic to bio-fuel usage.
The effort to mitigate the impact of climate change is a global struggle. But despite scientific discoveries of alternative sources of energy like renewables and the efforts by UN, government’s, international consortiums of environmentalists and climatologists to discourage industrial, organic and other pollutions, industries and locomotives still releases substances that hurt the environment.
The overwhelming impact of climate change in Nigeria can be seen in the myriad of flooding which affects substantially 3/4 fo States in 2023 and the shrinking of lake Chard, Niger and Benue rivers as well as local streams and running waters in villages.
Also, the normal periodic seasons are disrupted as we no more have the usual dry and harmattan seasons spanning October to March in the normal farming cycle of the year due to deforestation.
By: Archibong Emmanuel
(Snr. Reporter)
