Do you know what the harmattan season is? I'm sure you must have heard of it or you're currently experiencing depending on the country you live in. Well in this post, whether you know it or not, I'm going to give full details about it. Please follow up:

Here in Nigeria we are currently experiencing the harmattan phase, many love it, many do not, but I definitely do 🙃.

The harmattan

Harmattan is an exceptional season. The term harmattan is used to describe the period when the wind is prevalent, affecting the climate and the weather in the region of west Africa.
The harmattan wind blows from Sahara desert across west Africa. I always see it occur during December and January!

The harmattan brings a distinctive set of atmospheric conditions and effects on the environment and the people .

Effects it brings to the weather and people?

• Dryness: The harmattan wind comes with so much dryness. As the wind travels across the Sahara it picks up dusts and dry air. The dryness has various impact on both natural environment and daily life.

The dryness affects the skin, the weather condition, the hair, chapped lips.

_{A dry skin from harmattan}

_{Skin and hair also dry up}

• Temperature fluctuation: Harmattan leads to very cold temperatures especially in the early mornings and late evenings.

This weather is exceptionally cold plus the stormy breeze that you don't dare to take your bath, weather cold or hot bath 😂.
However, during the daytime, the temperature can be relatively high but the wind makes thes un milder.

• Dust and Haze

This is one of the most noticeable features of the harmattan, the dust that blankets the atmosphere. The wind carries particles of dust and sand and spreads to the atmosphere, this reduces visibility and causes hazy and foggy appearance. The dust settles on surfaces and it affects cleanliness and visibility. During this period those who clean the house or who work as cleaners do more work...

During this time children have so much fun and car owners get offended because when they see a dusty car they'll go and they'll just write the phrase: "Please wash me, I'm dirty"😂. Look closely in the car image below you'll see such writeup.

The owner must have washed that car not quite long ago hehe.

• Agricultural effects
  The season can have both positive and negative effect on agriculture, the dry air helps to reduce some risks in plant diseases.
  On the other hand Lack of moisture affects the crops growth and shred the leaves

• Transportation: The dust and haze can pose a challenge for transportation, which includes road and air travel. The dust particles may lead to disruption and delays.

Despite this, thousands travel to the village to be with their loved ones. I also have plans for it this year 🙃.

• The roads: The harmattan dries and clears the roads. When it rains, most roads in my town gets flooded and after it gets muddy and remains like that, but the harmattan leaves no room for flood and mud, we walk on very dry roads. No wonder it's said that harmattan builds roads for us 😁.

The images below show the road before and during harmattan.

Favorite fruit of my favorite season

As crazy as it might be, harmattan is still my favorite season. I just love the atmosphere, the cold and especially the cherry fruit:

The cherry fruit, popularly known here as Udara or agbalumo is a very juicy and sour fruit that only appears during harmattan. This fruit makes this favorite season complete for me 🙂.

Protection from the weather

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Harmattan can affect the health because of the dust particles and the cold breeze. So it's important to protect ourselves by:

• Wearing dust masks

• Applying enough ointments due to dryness of skin and hair

• Wearing thick clothes to cover the body from the cold

• Drink enough water to stay hydrated

🌺🌼🌺🌼🌺🌼🌺🌼🌺🌼🌺🌼🌺

Thank you for stopping by and learning about this special season. I hope I gave enough details for you to understand.

See you next time 🤗

My intro post

_{All images were taken by me}