The Canadian Governor-General, Julie Payette, has said continuous melting of ice on Kilimanjaro Mountain is shrinking Lake Chad and other lakes across the world.
Payette, an astronaut who had flown to space on two separate occasions- 1999 and 2009 – said she and other colleagues watched from space how ice on Kilimanjaro Mountain was melting, saying this is responsible for the shrinking of lakes.
‘’You could see here, this is Mount Kilimanjaro. When I and my colleagues were in one of the missions to space we saw how ice on Kilimanjaro was melting; the melting of the ice is responsible for shrinking of lakes such as Lake Chad in your country, Nigeria, and other lakes.
‘’But we are only lucky in our country, Canada, we have many lakes around us…’’, she said in Abuja on Monday when she visited the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA).
She told the gathering which was made up of hundreds of primary and secondary students across schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja that the oceans, seas and big rivers could be seen from the space, adding world is really a beautiful place to behold from the space.
She urged the students to take their studies in science and technology, and innovation seriously to aspire to the highest level of their chosen carriers.
“I have come to the realisation that with education you can aim to be anything and the sky isn’t even your limit: it is just the beginning’’, Payette said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, said the Canadian Governor-General’s visit and her meeting students would boast Nigeria’s space programme.
Dr Onu said the Federal Government would soon launch a revised space technology programme for the country.
He also said government would intensify awareness on space technology to encourage more students to show interest in it.
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