Lagos is getting hotter, and residents know exactly why
By: Abudu Olalekan
It’s getting harder to breathe outside. Just walking down the street feels like stepping into an oven sometimes. Some Lagos residents say the loss of trees and green spaces has increased their exposure to heat amid expanding urban development. And honestly? They’re right.
We spoke to people on the ground Sunday, September 20, 2026, in Lagos. The story was the same everywhere.
Take Mrs. Abiodun Adebayo. She’s a civil servant who started work at the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, back in 2010. She remembers when the area actually had mature trees. Patches of greenery you could see. Now? Much of that greenery had disappeared over the years. The paved surfaces, structures and other developments had increased around the area. It’s concrete everywhere.
“Before, you could sit outside and enjoy the shade. Now, when the sun is strong, everybody wants to remain indoors,” she said.
She pointed to a section of the Obafemi Awolowo Way. Recalled when trees provided shade where the space is now largely bare. It’s stark when you look at it. Observations showed noticeable changes in the area’s greenery compared with a 2024 photograph of the same location. The difference is night and day.
“This place had plenty trees for shade. Now, it is bare and you can hardly find single respite from the sun,” she said.
Then there’s Mr. Adishun Okita. He lives on Funsho Williams Avenue, Surulere, been there about five years. He recalled seeing orange and mango trees in the area. Real fruit trees. Residents previously used the open spaces to relax and escape the afternoon heat. But things changed.
Okita said he began noticing trees being removed about two years ago as shops and other structures emerged on previously green spaces. Progress, they call it. But a mango tree he valued was cut down for infrastructure. An orange tree in front of his house was removed for a shop. Just gone.
“Before, there used to be natural breeze brought by the trees. But right now, everywhere is hot because the spaces have been built with shops,” he said.
It’s not just about heat though. It’s about community. Okita said residents once gathered beneath the trees during power outages, using the shade to escape the heat and play draughts. That social spot is lost.
“Sometimes in the afternoon when there is no light, we used to stay under the tree shade just to get air and play draughts,” he said. “Right now, we just stay inside and adapt to the heat.”
He’s calling for change. Okita said residents should plant more trees alongside development to provide natural shade and improve outdoor comfort. “I feel like they should plant more trees rather, to help us with natural air,” he added.
The traders are feeling it too. For Mr. Mohammed Sani, a trader around Iponri Bridge, fewer trees have also changed how people work outdoors. Sani, who has traded in the area for seven years, said trees previously shielded traders and residents from direct sunlight.
“In those times, the trees block all the sun. But now, the sun is all over the place,” he said.
Now traders have to improvise. At his fish-selling spot, which he identified as Mahombella, Sani uses an umbrella when the sun becomes intense. It’s not ideal. “I open my umbrella when the sun is too high, so it doesn’t spoil my market,” he said.
Even the hospitals aren’t safe from the concrete creep. Mrs. Ngozi Afamefuna, a resident of Haruna, Ogba, said County Hospital had been her family’s hospital for more than 20 years. She recalled that the hospital environment was greener and cooler around 2016 and 2017, with trees providing shade for patients and visitors. Sick people need cool air.
“Then, there were trees here that kept the environment very cool,” she said. Afamefuna recalled sitting beneath the trees during a previous admission because of her love for nature. “It’s no longer like that now, and that is not good.”
She urged the government to strengthen measures against tree felling. Says protecting trees would benefit residents and the environment.
It’s not just anecdotal either. Science backs them up. A 2024 study published in the International Journal of Biometeorology found high heat-stress conditions in highly urbanised parts of Lagos. Researchers found lower heat-stress conditions in less urbanised areas with higher vegetation cover. They recommended increasing tree canopy and green spaces.
Another 2024 study examined street trees across Lagos’ 16 Local Government Areas, recording 4,017 trees belonging to 46 species. That’s not many for a city this size. The researchers said the findings could guide decisions on where trees are most needed and support more equitable distribution of urban tree resources.
The Lagos State Government has also emphasised the need to balance urban development with protection and expansion of green cover. They know the issue. Speaking at the 2026 Lagos State Tree Planting Day on July 14, Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu said anyone who unlawfully felled a tree without a permit was required by law to replace it with five trees.
Olalekan A. Abudu is a seasoned and dedicated News Journalist at REPORTERS ROOM, with over eight years of experience. He specializes in politics, climate change, health, and education, while also covering security, economic, and judicial issues. Committed to accuracy and balanced reporting, Olalekan exemplifies the principles of public-interest journalism.
