I think one of the common topics you would find Nigerians talking about as neighbors or family is our weather conditions be it the heat, rain, or the cool breeze, even though we don't experience extreme weather as some other countries do, we usually pride ourselves as a human weather forecaster, to plan the day ahead, those days my mum would usually put a raincoat and umbrella in my school bag when she feels it's going to rain, especially during the rainy season, and as expected, it sure would rain most of the time she predicted, but these days, the weather is rather not as predictable as it used to be, as a mum now, whether it feels like it's going to rain or not, I make sure to have my children's umbrella and raincoat readily available in their school bags, and more importantly technology has made it more easy for us to be able to predict the weather with the use of our smartphones.

At the moment of writing this post, we are in early August, which is supposed to be the middle of our rainy season or "August break"/as we Nigerians like referring to this time of the year, the weather is usually cloudy and it seems like we are waiting for a heavy rain to pour any moment, but so far for weeks now, the rain is yet to resume, which makes everywhere feel cold and windy as if it is waiting for the perfect moment to resume a heavy rain.

Lagos my state of residence, like most of Nigeria, experiences two main seasons which are the rainy season as well as the dry season. The rainy season is from April up to October, sometimes August is usually the wettest month and not as dry as it is now, At those time, there are heavy and sometimes, heavy showers, which cause flooding in several areas in my city, the reason why I prefer the current windy and cool state to the heavy downpour, at least it drives away the heat we are so used to experiencing, particularly, as this year's heat wave was kind of the highest we've experienced, that it even caused a rave on social media, some thought the earth was now closest to the sun, while others joke about the gate of hell being opened to Nigerians, lol, that's my country people for you, we joke about everything just to lighten the mood and release tension.

Although the rain also helps cool the atmosphere a little, but it has its own disadvantage of bringing a little problem such as traffic, as is well known in Lagos, which worsens when the roads get flooded as flooded roads always need to be bypassed. Another benefit of the rain is that the plants and trees grow abundantly, and there is that freshness in the air the green vegetation spreads all over, which makes the air feel clean, the rain also helps wash away dust and pollution that have accumulated during dry weather.

On the other hand, the dry season of the year which is between November and the early part of March has its own flavor in Lagos. This is the type of climate that is characterized by high temperatures The weather changes also mean that early in the dry season the country experiences the harmattan a dust-laden wind blowing from the Sahara throughout the country and it lasts as long as several weeks or even days. Leaves us with dry skin, chapped lips, and heels if we don't moisturize and take special care of our skin during this time, it's always funny when my school mate come to school looking like a ghost in their white skin during the dry season, my vaseline or shea butter is usually very handy during this time.

Lagos weather most of the time is stable no matter what time of the year it is. Well, we do not have extreme conditions where some parts of the world experience for example very high temperatures. Fluctuations from the high point of a day to the low point of a day are usually small and within a certain limit most of the year. This is perhaps its strength and weakness at the same time – one does not have to worry about extremely cold conditions yet the heat and humidity that persist from time to time can be sometimes uncomfortable.

Is there any variation in the past memory of the weather much?

When we gather and discussion about the weather comes up, this is usually one of the reference topics, our elders used to be very good at predicting the weather, but now, things have changed, and it is not surprising to see rain during the dry season anymore. It is for this reason that most of our elders Insist that there has been a change in weather over the years. This research will discuss how even the extent of the harmattan or how the heat is felt today as compared to years ago has changed. In some years the rainy season begins relatively later and ends relatively earlier while dry seasons within the otherwise rainy seasons have become more frequent.

Global warming and the effect it has on increasing temperature is a major concern for a city like Lagos.Of course, through the years our weather has shaped and been reflected in almost every aspect of our way of life. It is, therefore, not a surprise that our fashion calls for loose dressing, light dresses, and fabrics that allow for air circulation often accompanied by an umbrella, and when it gets windy and cold, we make sure to cover up in warm clothing especially for our kids so they don't fall Ill.

Therefore, we can conclude that the weather is undoubtedly one of the most significant aspects of the life of people in Lagos and, in general, in the whole of Nigeria. It forms part of life’s schedule, forming part of the society’s profile and at the same time posing some risks and offers some benefits. While it has undoubtedly changed over time and will likely continue to do so, one thing remains constant, our ability to adapt to the change and appreciate the beauty of nature against any weather. As my people would say, there is nothing constant but change, and this could as well be said of the changing weather of this great nation.

This post is inspired by the #Augustinleo monthly topics, as well as cpprompt by @nwothini335 do check it out and get inspired.

All images used in this post are mine

Thank you for reading ❤❤