Sahelian Drought Investigation

One of many reasons why there is drought in the Sahel region is because the winter conditions which are completely different to the summers dominate and continue throughout the year. The usual wind directions in the mid-summer were reserved and dry whilst stable continental air dominated instead of moist, unstable maritime air. Therefore, fewer clouds are formed bringing less rain. Year after year of drier than average conditions meant the impact on people was severe.

Global warming is another cause of drought as it means there are less clouds produced from condensation due to the global temperatures increasing.

The region is faced with severe land degradation, caused by increasing desertification and soil erosion - the direct result of deforestation in recent decades.

The reasons for these worsening conditions are not clear. Some scientists believe that the world's climate has been changing, leading to an expansion of the Sahara desert and the Sahel. But it also seems certain that deforestation has played an important part, as farmers have cleared land for their crops and removed trees for fuel wood. Without trees and plants to protect it, the soil is carried away in the dry season by hot easterly winds, and washed into the rivers during the rains by surface run-off. The bare land reflects the sun's heat, reducing clouds and further reducing the chance of rain.

The Sahel has few natural resources, and drought is a common feature of life. Over the centuries people have developed survival strategies to cope with the harsh climate and arid land, but in recent decades many of these strategies have been abandoned in the name of development, and people have relied on cash crops, including peanuts, shear nuts, and sesame. Since 1968 the people of the Sahel have experienced drought and famine on an unprecedented scale therefore the cash crops failed and tens of thousands of people died. Famine also causes many other problems not just to the Sahel region but to other surrounding regions as migration will occur as people would be so desperate for food and drink. Aid will also be required from surrounding regions and other countries around the globe.

As the Sahel is a fragile environment where rainfall is sparse and unreliable, millet and sorghum crops can also grow well in the dry conditions, succeeding in a good year but failing when the rains are poor. Nomadic herders make good use of these difficult conditions, moving their sheep, goats, cows and camels to areas which have received the most rain. However the conditions are getting so harsh that even the animals that once could withstand these harsh conditions are dieing.

There are also many physical impacts from the droughts in the Sahel region. Water tables drop, vegetation dies and rivers dry up. This therefore has a knock on affect causing problems for the people living in the region.

Tim Cobley