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2012 Sahel drought
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2012 drought in the Sahel
2012 had a very severe drought in the Sahel, the semiarid region of Africa that lies between the Sahara and the savannas.Mendy Diop May 24, 2012 UN relief coordinator warns over humanitarian crisis in Africa's drought-hit Sahel http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42085 21 August 2012 UN News Centre Countries included in this region are Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, and Eritrea.Sahel Facts, information, pictures Encyclopedia.com articles about Sahel http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Sahel.aspx 2015-11-25 www.encyclopedia.com Droughts in the Sahel occur quite often and tend to reduce the already meager water supply and stress the economies of developing countries in that region.
Future droughts of the Sahel region
The droughts are becoming increasingly more common, worse and more threatening due to global warming. A possible explanation to the aridity trend is the supplements of an oceanography phenomenon called El Niño. Increasing drought under global warming in observations and models Nature Climate Change 2013-01-01 1758-678X 52–58 3 1 10.1038/nclimate1633 en Aiguo Dai 26919645 An idea is that evaporation is occurring at higher rate due to the change in sea surface temperature, which then impacts the amount of rain the Sahel region receives. Another factor to keep into consideration is the response of Earth's atmosphere to stimulants like greenhouse gases and carbon emissions.thumb|right|300px|The Sahel region – a belt up to 1,000 km wide that spans Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea
Societal impacts
Mass famine
Valerie Amos, UN Humanitarian Chief during 2012, released a statement during the year stating that over 15 million people were malnourished in West Africa and the Sahel region.UN relief coordinator warns over humanitarian crisis in Africa's drought-hit Sahel Mendy Diop https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42085 May 24, 2012 UN News Centre 21 August 2012 The main contributor to the famine was the drought of Sahel, ensued from a combination of failing crops and El Niño.
Mauritania and Chad recorded a loss in crop yield of over 50% when compared to 2011. Food reserves in the areas affected were very low and combined with corn prices soaring by 60-85% compared to averages over the last five years. In Chad alone this food crisis affected some 3.6 million people.Food Crisis in Sahel http://www.oxfam.org/en/sahel Oxfam International 10 June 2012 In places like Burkina Faso over 2.8 million were suffering from famine and in Senegal over 800,000 did not have enough to eat.
External links
FAO, the 2012 Sahel Crisis
SOS Children 2012, Sahel drought
The Guardians Poverty Matters Blog May 2012, Baaba Maal: people in the Sahel region need food and water now
ABC News, May 2012, UN: 18 Million in West Africa to Go Hungry in 2012
CNN, June 2012, A distress call from Africa's Sahel: Millions might starve
References
Category:Meteorological events in 2012
2012, Sahel
Drought, Sahel
Drought, Sahel
Drought, Sahel
Drought, Sahel
Drought, Sahel
Drought, Sahel
Sahel
Category:Climate change
Category:Climate change and the environment
Category:21st-century disasters in Niger
Drought, Sahel