Hauwa Abubakar remembers the day her neighbor’s three-year-old son collapsed in their compound. It was a scorching April afternoon in Yola, and the power had been out since morning.
“The boy was playing under the sun. Suddenly, he just fell down. We didn’t know what was wrong,” the 42-year-old mother of four recalls, her voice heavy with worry. “By the time we rushed him to the clinic, he was burning like fire.”
The child survived. But hundreds of others across Adamawa State weren’t so lucky.
Between February and May 2025, extreme heat claimed the lives of 200 people in just two weeks across the state, according to health officials. Yet most residents still don’t know how to protect themselves or recognize the warning signs of heatstroke.
A new study by the Adamawa Strengthening Community Journalism and Advocacy (SCOJA) Fellows reveals a troubling reality; 76 percent of residents cannot identify heatstroke symptoms, even as the condition becomes increasingly common in their communities.
The extreme heat research, conducted in December 2025 across Yola and Girei communities, found that 73 percent of respondents now consider heat-related illness a regular occurrence in their neighborhoods.
“People think it’s just ordinary fever or tiredness,” says Yahuza Bawage, team lead of the Adamawa SCOJA Fellows. “They don’t know that headache, dizziness, and extreme thirst during hot weather can be signs of something deadly.”
The study, carried out with support from the HumAngle Foundation, also revealed that 90 percent of residents directly link health risks to power outages during peak heat hours.
Power Outages Turn Homes Into Ovens
For families like Hauwa’s, the daily power cuts between noon and late afternoon turn their homes into ovens.
“The heat is unbearable when NEPA takes light,” she says, using the common nickname for electricity supply. “We can’t use fans. We can’t keep water cold. The children cry and refuse to eat.”
The situation is even worse at primary healthcare centers and hospitals, where power shortages compromise the storage of medicines and the ability to treat heat-stricken patients.
Dr. Fatima Musa, a general practitioner at a clinic in Girei, describes the challenge,
“We’ve seen patients arrive with severe dehydration and organ stress. Without reliable electricity, we can’t even run basic cooling equipment or refrigerate IV fluids properly.”
The heat season, which runs from February to May, poses the greatest danger to children, the elderly, pregnant women, and outdoor workers.
Street vendors, farmers, commercial motorcyclists, and construction laborers spend long hours under the blazing sun with little access to shade or clean drinking water.
Musa Adamu, a 56-year-old motorcycle rider in Yola, says he’s lost count of how many times he’s felt dizzy during his daily hustle.
“Sometimes I feel like fainting on the road,” he admits. “But if I stop working, my family will not eat. So I just drink water and continue.”
What Adamu doesn’t know is that drinking water alone may not be enough to prevent heat exhaustion or heatstroke.
Life-Saving Information Exists, But Nobody Has It
The Adamawa SCOJA Fellows have developed a multilingual Heat Safety Factsheet in English, Hausa, and Fulfulde, created in collaboration with health experts. The document explains how to recognize heatstroke symptoms and what to do in an emergency.
But the factsheet hasn’t been widely distributed yet.
The research team is now calling on the Ministry of Health and the Adamawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency to officially endorse and circulate the material across hospitals, primary health centers, schools, markets, places of worship, and motor parks.
“This is not just a document. It’s a life-saving tool,” Bawage insists. “If people had this information during the last heat wave, many of those 200 deaths could have been prevented.”
Another major gap is the absence of timely heat alerts in local languages.
While the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) issues weather forecasts, most residents in rural and semi-urban areas don’t receive advance warnings when temperatures are expected to exceed 40°C.
The SCOJA Fellows are urging newsrooms in Adamawa to partner with NiMet and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to broadcast heat alerts through local radio, television, and community channels.
“If fishermen can hear flood warnings on radio, why can’t families hear heat warnings?” Bawage asks. “Early information saves lives.”
Government Must Act Before February Heat Returns
Perhaps the most urgent recommendation is ensuring stable electricity during the peak heat hours of 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm, especially in hospitals, primary health centers, and densely populated communities.
The Adamawa SCOJA Fellows are appealing to the state government to work with the Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) to guarantee power access during the February to May heat season.
“Heat is a public health emergency,” Bawage stresses. “And emergencies require emergency responses.”
Research published in the Journal of Environmental Management and reports by TVC News have documented the growing threat of extreme heat stress mortality and the institutional gaps in Adamawa State’s response to climate-driven health risks.
Global warming is no longer a distant threat. It’s here, and it’s killing people in real time.
As February approaches and temperatures begin to climb again, the clock is ticking.
Will the government act in time? Will communities receive the information they need? Will hospitals have the power to save lives?
For Hauwa Abubakar and millions of others across Adamawa, the answers to these questions could mean the difference between life and death.
“We just want to be safe in our own homes,” she says quietly. “Is that too much to ask?”
DOWNLOAD: Policy Brief, Adamawa SCOJA FELLOWS
Contact for Follow-Up:
Yahuza Bawage, Team Lead, Adamawa SCOJA Fellows
HumAngle Foundation
📞 +234 903 484 6202
The Adamawa SCOJA Fellows Team, supported by the HumAngle Foundation, conducted the research, analysis, and advocacy behind this report.
This report was produced by the editorial team at The Gazette News | Latest News In Nigeria & the World in line with our commitment to accuracy, fairness, and responsible journalism. Information in this article is based on verified sources available at the time of publication. The Gazette News | Latest News In Nigeria & the World may update the story as new facts emerge or additional context becomes available.
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