Perceptions of climate change and adaptation strategies to extreme heat: a qualitative study in Burkina Faso [research data]
Understanding how climate change is experienced in low-resource settings is essential for designing effective, context-specific adaptation strategies, yet evidence from rural West Africa remains limited. We conducted eight focus group discussions with 40 participants across four communities in Nouna...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Database Research Data |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Heidelberg
Universität
2026-03-05
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| DOI: | 10.11588/DATA/H8IDM5 |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.11588/DATA/H8IDM5 Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://heidata.uni-heidelberg.de/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.11588/DATA/H8IDM5 
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| Author Notes: | Hussein Amin |
| Summary: | Understanding how climate change is experienced in low-resource settings is essential for designing effective, context-specific adaptation strategies, yet evidence from rural West Africa remains limited. We conducted eight focus group discussions with 40 participants across four communities in Nouna, Burkina Faso, and analysed the data using a thematic analysis. Participants attributed climate change to environmental degradation, human behaviour, and divine influence, and described extreme heat as the most immediate and pervasive challenge. Heat exposure affected physical, mental, and social wellbeing, disrupting sleep, work productivity, household dynamics, and caregiving. Although all participants described behavioural adaptations—such as shifting work schedules, modifying household routines, and altering housing practices—women spoke of high exposure and burden due to gendered responsibilities involving caregiving, fire-based cooking, water collection, and indoor labour in poorly ventilated spaces. Our findings highlight the need for gender-responsive, community-driven adaptation strategies, including targeted communication, skills training, and locally appropriate heat-mitigation measures to reduce the growing heat burden in rural Burkina Faso. |
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| Item Description: | Gefördert durch. Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft: 427397439 Gesehen am 05.03.2026 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| DOI: | 10.11588/DATA/H8IDM5 |