Rising temperatures, sleepless nights, silent climate crisis bearing down on Nigeria

Jeremiah Adesina

By noon, the heat had already pushed some commercial drivers off the road.Under the concrete shadows of Oshodi’s sprawling bridges in Lagos, several drivers sat quietly beside their buses, shirts drenched with sweat, faces weary from hours under a punishing sun.

Nearby, a vegetable seller repeatedly wiped her forehead with a damp cloth while trying to protect tomatoes already beginning to wrinkle in the heat.
“This weather is too much,” she said softly.

Across Nigeria, from the crowded streets of Lagos to farming communities in Ogun, Oyo and beyond, people are increasingly living with a heat many say feels different from previous years — heavier, longer and more difficult to escape.

The heat no longer fades when the sun goes down.

Instead, nights now stretch into uncomfortable hours of restless sleep, especially in densely populated communities where poor electricity supply, cramped apartments and inadequate ventilation trap warmth indoors long after midnight.

For millions of Nigerians, rising temperatures are no longer just a seasonal inconvenience. They are becoming a growing public health challenge, an economic burden and a visible sign of a climate crisis steadily tightening its grip on daily life.

Nights without relief
In Agege, Lagos, a father of three described what evenings have become inside his one-room apartment.

“Even at midnight, the room still feels hot,” he said. “If there is no electricity, everybody just keeps turning on the bed. Nobody sleeps well anymore.”

Across low-income communities, residents say power outages have made coping with the heat far more difficult. Dead fans, overcrowded living conditions and poor airflow have turned many homes into heat traps after sunset.

For families already struggling with rising food prices and transportation costs, buying fuel to power generators through the night is increasingly out of reach.

The result is exhaustion that carries into the next day.

Workers wake up tired. Children struggle through humid nights. Elderly residents complain of weakness and headaches. And for many households, discomfort has quietly become routine.

Earlier this month, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) issued fresh heat stress warnings across several states, cautioning Nigerians about dangerously high temperatures and humidity levels capable of triggering dehydration, fatigue and other heat-related illnesses.

In Oyo State, authorities also released a public heatwave alert after temperatures in some areas approached 41 degrees Celsius.

But beyond official advisories, many Nigerians say the reality is already visible in their daily lives.

A city covered in concrete

Environmental experts say several forces are driving the worsening heat conditions across Nigeria.

Global climate change remains a major factor, but rapid urbanisation is also intensifying temperatures in major cities.

As trees disappear and open land gives way to asphalt, concrete and roofing sheets that trap heat, urban centres are becoming significantly warmer.

In heavily built-up areas of Lagos, temperatures often remain high even hours after sunset.

Environmental advocates warn that many Nigerian cities are experiencing what experts describe as the “urban heat island” effect, where roads, buildings and concrete surfaces absorb heat during the day and slowly release it at night.

The difference is often noticeable.
Residents in older neighbourhoods with mature trees and wider green spaces frequently describe cooler surroundings compared to crowded districts dominated by cement structures and little vegetation.

“Some streets still feel bearable because of the trees,” an environmental advocate explained. “But once you enter places covered completely with concrete, you immediately feel the difference.”

Urban planners say the shrinking presence of trees is quietly removing one of nature’s most effective cooling systems.

Hospitals are beginning to notice
Medical workers say the impact of prolonged heat exposure is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has repeatedly advised Nigerians to stay hydrated, avoid prolonged sunlight exposure and monitor symptoms linked to heat stress.

At a public hospital in Lagos, a medical doctor who spoke anonymously said more patients are arriving with symptoms connected to excessive heat, even when they do not initially recognise it as the cause.

“People come in with headaches, dizziness, dehydration, weakness, and sometimes breathing difficulties,” the doctor said. “When you ask questions, you realise many of them have spent long hours under the sun or in poorly ventilated environments.”

Children, elderly persons and outdoor workers remain among the most vulnerable groups.

Construction workers, traffic officers, roadside traders and commercial drivers spend long hours exposed to direct sunlight daily, often without adequate hydration or protection.

Health experts warn that prolonged exposure to extreme heat can reduce concentration, increase fatigue and worsen underlying medical conditions such as hypertension and respiratory illnesses.

Yet for many Nigerians working in the informal economy, avoiding the heat is simply not realistic.

“If you do not go out, you do not eat,” a roadside vendor in Lagos said bluntly.

The heat is also hitting the food supply

Beyond the cities, farmers and food distributors say rising temperatures are quietly damaging food production and transportation.

An agribusiness operator transporting vegetables from Ogun State to Lagos explained how quickly produce now deteriorates during transit.

“Before, tomatoes could survive the journey much longer,” he said. “Now, once the vehicle gets too hot, everything starts getting soft almost immediately.”
Farmers across several regions say rising temperatures, dry soil conditions and irregular rainfall patterns are affecting crop yields and livestock survival.

Poultry farmers have also reported higher bird mortality during intense heat periods, placing additional pressure on food supply chains already strained by inflation and insecurity.

Agricultural analysts warn that if extreme weather conditions continue unchecked, small-scale farmers could face even greater challenges sustaining production levels.

And ultimately, consumers may continue paying the price through higher food costs.

Heat on the road

For commercial drivers navigating Lagos traffic daily, the heat has become both exhausting and dangerous.

A driver operating around the Mile 2 axis described afternoons inside his bus as nearly unbearable.

“By afternoon, the vehicle feels like an oven,” he said. “You open every window, but the heat still enters your body. Sometimes you feel weak before evening.”

Other transport workers say headaches, fatigue and irritability now happen more frequently during long hours in traffic congestion.

In open markets, traders say customers increasingly avoid shopping during peak afternoon temperatures.

“We now keep water beside us all day,” a trader said at a market in Lagos. “If you stay too long without drinking water, your body starts reacting.”

For workers whose survival depends on physical labour, the heat is quietly reducing productivity while increasing physical strain.

Why trees matter more than ever

Environmental experts say one of the most practical solutions to rising urban temperatures is large-scale tree planting combined with stronger protection for existing green spaces.

Trees provide natural shade, cool surrounding areas and improve air quality, particularly in densely populated urban environments.

Across parts of Lagos, residents say roads lined with older trees remain noticeably cooler than newly developed districts dominated by concrete.

In recent years, the Lagos State Government has intensified tree planting exercises, sanitation campaigns and environmental clean-up efforts in parts of the state.

Environmental officials, sanitation workers, market associations and transport unions have participated in coordinated activities aimed at improving drainage systems and reducing environmental degradation.

Some residents in Surulere, Yaba and Ikeja also acknowledge improvements in environmental sanitation and cleaner public spaces compared to previous years.

Still, environmental observers insist much more needs to be done.

“Tree planting should not only happen during ceremonial events,” one environmental advocate noted. “It has to become a serious part of urban planning and community development.”

Experts are also calling for stronger enforcement against indiscriminate tree felling while encouraging schools, religious institutions, estates and private organisations to participate in long-term environmental restoration projects.

According to them, trees are no longer just decorative additions to cities. They are becoming a critical infrastructure in the fight against extreme heat.

A crisis already here

Globally, scientists continue warning that recent years have ranked among the warmest ever recorded.

For Nigeria, the consequences are becoming harder to dismiss.

The people sheltering beneath bridges in Lagos are not waiting for climate summits or policy speeches to tell them something has changed.

They are already adapting in the only ways available to them, rationing water, avoiding afternoon movement, sleeping outdoors when rooms become unbearable and constantly searching for shade.

But adaptation alone may not be enough.
As temperatures continue rising, many fear Nigeria remains dangerously unprepared for the scale of the climate challenge unfolding quietly around it.

And for millions of ordinary Nigerians sweating through sleepless nights, the crisis is no longer a distant environmental conversation.

It is already here.