2012 Sahel drought

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]

Future droughts of the Sahel region [ edit ]

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 Nino . ^[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]

Societal impacts [ edit ]

Mass famine [ edit ]

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. ^[4] The main contributor to the famine was the drought of Sahel, ensued from a combination of failing crops and El Nino . ^[3]

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. ^[5] 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. ^[4]

External links [ edit ]

FAO, the 2012 Sahel Crisis
SOS Children 2012, Sahel drought
The Guardian ' s 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 [ edit ]

^ Mendy Diop (May 24, 2012). "UN relief coordinator warns over humanitarian crisis in Africa's drought-hit Sahel" . UN News Centre . Retrieved 21 August 2012 .
^ ^a ^b "Sahel Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Sahel" . www.encyclopedia.com . Retrieved 2015-11-25 .
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Dai, Aiguo (2013-01-01). "Increasing drought under global warming in observations and models". Nature Climate Change . 3 (1): 52?58. doi : 10.1038/nclimate1633 . ISSN 1758-678X . S2CID 26919645 .
^ ^a ^b Mendy Diop (May 24, 2012). "UN relief coordinator warns over humanitarian crisis in Africa's drought-hit Sahel" . UN News Centre . Retrieved 21 August 2012 .
^ "Food Crisis in Sahel" . Oxfam International . Retrieved 10 June 2012 .

This article about or related to natural disasters is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it .

[:02-1] Mendy Diop (May 24, 2012). "UN relief coordinator warns over humanitarian crisis in Africa's drought-hit Sahel" . UN News Centre . Retrieved 21 August 2012 .

[:1-2] "Sahel Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Sahel" . www.encyclopedia.com . Retrieved 2015-11-25 .

[:2-3] Dai, Aiguo (2013-01-01). "Increasing drought under global warming in observations and models". Nature Climate Change . 3 (1): 52?58. doi : 10.1038/nclimate1633 . ISSN 1758-678X . S2CID 26919645 .

[:0-4] Mendy Diop (May 24, 2012). "UN relief coordinator warns over humanitarian crisis in Africa's drought-hit Sahel" . UN News Centre . Retrieved 21 August 2012 .

[5] "Food Crisis in Sahel" . Oxfam International . Retrieved 10 June 2012 .

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