Climate change brings rain to Africa’s Sahel region

Rising greenhouse gases have increased rainfall in Africa’s drought-stricken Sahel region, where more than 100,000 people died from a devastating drought in the 1970s and 1980s. But these positive short-term impacts could be negated in the long term as greenhouse gases continue to accumulate.

The study, which was published in the journal Nature Climate Change, by scientists at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading shows that increased greenhouse gas in the atmosphere accidentally triggered a return of the seasonal rains in the Sahel region, which is crucial for agriculture and drinking water.

The findings show just how fragile and sensitive the African climate is to human-induced climate change, say the scientists. Computer simulations show that around three-quarters of the additional rain was caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions.

Professor Rowan Sutton, who led the research, said: “This shows how climate change can hit specific countries and regions in a much more complicated way than the simple idea of ‘global warming’ might suggest.”

The scientists warned that while the short-term impact of climate change may be beneficial to this specific part of Africa, the long-term impact could be very different as greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere.

As Sutton explains, “our new study shows that our activities are not just causing problems for future generations. They are causing major changes now.”

He hopes that governments meeting at the UN climate conference later this year in Paris will take steps to curb greenhouse gas emissions and stop upsetting a natural system that we don’t fully understand.

 

Photo credit: Robin Taylor, flickr/Creative Commons

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