Kibera slums. The area has been adversely affected by global trends in climate change and usually records over four degrees hotter days than the rest of Nairobi in summer. [PHOTO/Tuko]
Kibera slums in Nairobi are paying the huge debt of global warming as the rest of Nairobi remains unaffected.
According to a report from the meteorological department, residents of Kibera and other slum areas in the city will have to grapple more with the extremely high temperatures due to the effects of global warming.
A scientific explanation holds that the slum is affected by the simmering heat because it lacks enough vegetation cover.
Unlike most parts of the city, Kibera has been encroached by settlements and there is barely any space left for trees and other forms of vegetation cover.
In Kibera, peak temperatures during the summer season were four degrees higher than what was recorded in other areas.
Another factor that contributes to the disparities in temperature is the type of structures.
In Kibera, the houses have a lowered roof that does not allows sufficient circulation of air.
The building materials are also to blame as iron sheets become easily heated and transfer the sun's rays into the interior of the house.