Ghana: Rains Welcome Mills's Body

The late President John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills's journey to eternity begun yesterday on a smooth note, with certain parts of the country, especially the Greater Accra and Central regions, experiencing some slight showers of rain.

The two regions mentioned above played a key role in the life of the late President. He hails from Ekumfi Otuam in the Central Region, and the seat of government he presided over is in the Greater Accra Region.

As early as 7:00 GMT, the casket containing the remains of the late President was brought out of the 37 Military morgue, after his family members had performed the traditional rituals. This marked the commencement of the three-day final funeral ceremony of the late Head of State.

Family members who performed the traditional rituals could not hold back their tears, weeping uncontrollably. When footages began to roll on the various television networks across the country, millions of people joined the nation to bid the late President farewell.

Moments after the casket was put in the vehicle enroute to the State House for the new President and his Vice, government officials and the general public, as well as foreign dignitaries to file past, the weather suddenly changed.

Data sourced from WeatherBug had Accra recording a low temperature of 23°C (73°F), with a Dew Point of 22°C and a Heat Index of 29°C. Humidity was at 74%. At 13:15 GMT, the weather began heating up, reaching a high temperature of 28°C at 14:45 GMT, according to WeatherBug's data.

This was after thousands of mourners had filed past the remains of the late President to pay their last respects and had left the State Banquet Hall to their various destinations. A further search for weather data for the remaining two days revealed that Accra would today (Thursday, August 9, 2012 experience a further decline of mostly cloudy temperature.

According to WeatherBug, the capital city would experience a low temperature of 22°C and humidity of 89%, with a dew point of 22°C. The data puts today's high temperature at 26°C, with a humidity of 80%, and a dew point of 22°C.

The story is almost the same for Friday, 10 August, 2012, when the remains of the late President would finally be put to rest. Accra, according to WeatherBug's data, would experience mostly cloudy low temperature of 22°C, and a high temperature of 27°C.

Humidity at low temperature was pegged at 89%, with a dew point of 19°C. At high temperature, humidity would be at 77%, with a dew point of 23°C.

The country has for the past two weeks experienced moderate cold temperature, but that of yesterday's surprised many, who read various meanings into it.

The majority of the people interviewed argued that the sudden change in weather was a clear indication that a great man had fallen.