2012 Sahel drought
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2012 had a very severe drought in the Sahel, the semiarid region of Africa that lies between the Sahara and the savannas.[1] Countries included in this region are Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, and Eritrea.[2] 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.[2]
The droughts are becoming increasingly more common, worse and more threatening due to global warming.[3] A possible explanation to the aridity trend is the supplements of an oceanography phenomenon called El Niño.[3] 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.[3] Another factor to keep into consideration is the response of Earth's atmosphere to stimulants like greenhouse gases and carbon emissions.[3]
