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The Ghana Meteorological Agency has said the intense heat being experienced in the country might last until next month, May.

According to the Agency, the excessively hot weather is as a result of a heat wave which occurs when the sun crosses the equator and is directly on the earth’s surface.

Speaking on Joy FM, Monday morning, the Chief Forecaster, Kafui Quarshiegah explained that “Normally around this time of the year, the sun [crosses] the equator and is perpendicular to the earth’s surface so if you’re on the earth’s surface the sun is just directly on your head.”

Mr Quarshiegah noted that as a result, temperatures might increase hour after hour each day until about 3pm.

He also explained that delays in the rain this year is also causing an increase in the sun’s temperature.

“Unfortunately for us around April we should have the clouds which will be preventing some of the heat from the sun but this year, we are not having the clouds as it should be. So we are having a deficit in the rainfall, which is causing the clouds to despair and the sun is still heating up which is causing the heat wave,” Mr Quarshiegah noted.

He added, “We are just hoping that by May 10 to 20, we will start seeing some rains coming in so where the clouds will start building up we will have a shade of the sun and therefore, temperatures will go down.”

He advised that people should avoid walking in the sun during the day and drink a lot of water to prevent dehydration.

“If you are even a farmer at least work for some time, when the sun is at its peak you just move out, let the sun go down then you come back to the farm but don’t work throughout the period in the sun. Get some shade, hide under it and save yourself some environmental conditions,” he stressed.