2012 Sahel drought

[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.

[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]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.

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.