Lagos residents spend more to battle intense heat

Intense heat is forcing Lagos residents to spend more on water, electricity and cooling appliances, while others sacrifice sleep and cut household expenses to stay comfortable.

Residents spoke in separate interviews on Thursday in Lagos.

For some, the heat means buying cold drinks more frequently, paying higher electricity bills or seeking alternative sleeping arrangements when their homes become unbearably hot.

In Apongbon Street, Lagos Island, Blessing Olabode said she now spends between N1,100 and N1,300 daily on cold drinks and bottled water, compared with N400 to N900 previously.

“I spend N1,100 to N1,300 every day buying cold drinks and bottled water just to boost my energy, stay hydrated and cool down,” she said.

Ms Olabode’s daily spending could add between N6,000 and N27,000 to her monthly expenses if sustained for 30 days.

She said the heat also disrupted her sleep, leaving her tired the following day and forcing her to cut spending on mobile data and transportation.

Another Apongbon resident, Mercy Favour, said her monthly electricity expenses rose from N10,000 to N15,000 because she used cooling appliances more frequently.

Ms Favour said she bought a rechargeable fan for about N50,000 to help her cope with the heat.

She added that her household’s monthly water expenditure had increased from N48,000 to N60,000 since mid-September.

“The additional water was needed for frequent bathing whenever the electricity supply failed,” she said.

Ms Favour said the heat sometimes woke her four or five times nightly, while alternative cooling equipment, including solar-powered appliances, remained expensive.

Another Apongbon resident, Omolayo Lawal, said rising electricity expenses had forced her to reduce reliance on air conditioning and reconsider other household spending.

Ms Lawal said 20.40 units of electricity, which previously cost N3,000 and lasted a month, now lasted about two weeks.

“I just used money saved for gas to make up for my electricity bill because I don’t want to sleep under this heat,” she said.

For Miss Sandra, who lives on Popoola Street, Mafoluku, the heat has made sleeping inside her apartment almost impossible.

She said she now slept on the decking of her compound at night because her apartment remained unbearably hot.

Ms Sandra, who works with an insurance company, said she also bought cold water almost every hour at work to soak a towel and dab her face and neck.

She attributed her discomfort at home partly to poor electricity supply, which she said was available for barely an hour daily.

“At night, I never sleep inside my apartment. I sleep upstairs on the decking of the compound till daybreak. That is the only way I can get some sleep,” she said.

In Maryland, Ikeja, Eunice Ogbonna said her family had invested in two solar-powered table fans despite owning air conditioners and conventional fans.

She said the larger Sun King solar-powered fan cost about N120,000, while the smaller version sold for approximately N90,000.

Ms Ogbonna said the N210,000 investment provided an alternative during unreliable electricity supply.

“The fans operated for between 12 hours at the highest speed and 19 hours at lower speed settings,” she said.

At Oyingbo Market, a spice vendor, Peculiar Igwe, said her daily spending on chilled bottled water had increased from N400 to about N1,000.

The N600 daily increase could add approximately N18,000 to her monthly expenses if sustained for 30 days.

Ms Igwe said rising fuel costs also made generator use difficult whenever electricity was unavailable, while the heat sometimes forced her to interrupt business activities to rest.

“Fuel that used to last for two days now lasts for only a few hours, increasing the amount we spend to cope with the heat,” she said.

She appealed to the government to reduce fuel prices to make generator use more affordable during electricity shortages.

Meanwhile, Augustina Obioma, a chef on Oshogbo Street, Lawanson, Augustina said she used her fan and air conditioner simultaneously but still struggled with the heat.

Ms Obioma said her monthly electricity expenses had risen from N2,000 to between N4,000 and N5,000 over the past month.

She added that the heat caused discomfort and skin rashes, while her nieces struggled to sleep in the hot conditions.

The Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) identified extreme heat as an increasingly persistent climate risk in Lagos State in a research brief published on October 8, 2026.

Titled “Managing Heat Risk in Lagos: Protecting Vulnerable Communities from Extreme Heat,: the brief reported heat stress across all study locations, with none recording levels below 35 degrees Celsius.

NISER said high temperatures combined with high humidity intensified heat discomfort, particularly during the dry season.

It also identified heat hotspots in southern Lagos and the city centre.

According to the institute, 75.5 per cent of respondents worked outdoors, increasing their exposure to heat during working hours.

The research also found that 46.3 per cent of households experienced high thermal housing vulnerability, while another 47.2 per cent experienced moderate vulnerability.

NISER reported that 91.3 per cent of households depended on a single income source, potentially limiting their ability to afford additional cooling measures.

The findings highlight the financial pressures facing residents who must contend with intense heat, vulnerable housing and limited access to affordable cooling.

However, the individual accounts do not establish the average additional cost of coping with intense heat across Lagos State. 

(NAN)