Assessment of the Perception and Awareness of Climate Change and the Influence of Information Amongst Tertiary Education Students in North-East Nigeria

Climate change is one of the greatest environmental problems confronting the 21st century. It has impacted several systems of the economy in areas such as food availability and supply, access to basic education, natural energy, healthcare, environment, security and many other socio-economic and political arms of governance. Accurate information and awareness especially among the youths are critical to mitigating the impact of climate change. This paper assesses the perception of climate change amongst students studying in higher institutions of learning in Northern Nigeria. It further investigates the available and accessible medium of information relating to climate change in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. The results were analysed descriptively and showed that most of the students are aware of the changes in weather patterns, with flood and heatwaves contributing the most changes affecting the environment at 20.5% and 46.6% respectively. In addition, the results showed that although information relating to climate change is readily available, it is however not easily accessible due to the cost of the internet bundle (39.75%) and the cost of journal and textbook subscriptions (26.25%). Therefore, information must be made accessible especially in tertiary institutions to raise an informed set of graduates who will tackle societal issues proactively and sustainably.

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