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<p>Climate change manifests increasingly through rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, intensifying heatwaves, and recurrent flooding in African cities. These impacts highlight the urgent need for access to climate services and information (CSI) to guide adaptation and resilience strategies. However, evidence on the factors that enable or constrain how urban residents in sub-Saharan Africa engage with CSI in decision-making remains limited. This paper examines the availability and the social, cultural, and institutional conditions of CSI in Kumasi, Ghana, and how residents access, interpret, and respond to such information. Using a mixed methods approach involving a&#xa0;survey of 621 residents and key informant interviews, the study integrates insights from the diffusion of innovations theory and social practice theory to analyse the adoption of climate information and the cultural and normative practices that influence its use. Findings indicate that while most residents have experienced climate-related hazards, limited access to CSI, along with widespread mistrust of accuracy, constrains its uptake. Instead, many residents rely on personal observations and/or cultural and spiritual interpretations of climate events, while institutional actors highlight public complacency until risks materialise. These dynamics illustrate the dual barriers of information diffusion and ingrained practices in shaping climate literacy. We argue that strengthening climate-literate and resilient neighbourhoods requires not only improving the dissemination and credibility of CSI but also embedding such services within existing social practices, norms, and trusted local, interpretive networks. This approach offers pathways for context-sensitive urban climate resilience policies in Ghana and similar African cities.</p>

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From information to action: climate literacy, everyday practices, and the diffusion of climate services in urban Ghana

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月14日

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  • Eric Nortey,
  • Michael Osei Asibey,
  • Bright Osei Boateng,
  • Francisca Agyei

摘要

Climate change manifests increasingly through rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, intensifying heatwaves, and recurrent flooding in African cities. These impacts highlight the urgent need for access to climate services and information (CSI) to guide adaptation and resilience strategies. However, evidence on the factors that enable or constrain how urban residents in sub-Saharan Africa engage with CSI in decision-making remains limited. This paper examines the availability and the social, cultural, and institutional conditions of CSI in Kumasi, Ghana, and how residents access, interpret, and respond to such information. Using a mixed methods approach involving a survey of 621 residents and key informant interviews, the study integrates insights from the diffusion of innovations theory and social practice theory to analyse the adoption of climate information and the cultural and normative practices that influence its use. Findings indicate that while most residents have experienced climate-related hazards, limited access to CSI, along with widespread mistrust of accuracy, constrains its uptake. Instead, many residents rely on personal observations and/or cultural and spiritual interpretations of climate events, while institutional actors highlight public complacency until risks materialise. These dynamics illustrate the dual barriers of information diffusion and ingrained practices in shaping climate literacy. We argue that strengthening climate-literate and resilient neighbourhoods requires not only improving the dissemination and credibility of CSI but also embedding such services within existing social practices, norms, and trusted local, interpretive networks. This approach offers pathways for context-sensitive urban climate resilience policies in Ghana and similar African cities.