Sahel

The Sahel region (/səˈhɛl/; from ar ساحل (sāḥil ar) 'coast, shore'), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a biogeographical region in Africa. It is the transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a hot semi-arid climate and stretches across the southernmost latitudes of North Africa between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea. Although geographically located in the tropics, the Sahel does not have a tropical climate.

Especially in the western Sahel, there are frequent shortages of food and water due to its very high government corruption and the semi-arid climate. Nonetheless, the region has sustained very high human birthrates, resulting in a rapid increase in population. In recent times,[1] various coups, insurgencies, terrorism[2] and foreign interventions have taken place in many Sahel countries, especially across former Françafrique.

In addition to its ecological and climatic significance, the Sahel is also considered a geopolitical space, shaped by internal instability and external strategic competition.[3][4][5]

## Contents

* 1 Etymology
* 2 Geography
* 2.1 Flora and fauna
* 2.2 Climate
* 2.3 Recent droughts
* 2.3.1 2010 drought
* 2.4 Desertification and soil loss
* 2.5 Protected areas
* 3 Culture
* 3.1 Music
* 4 Language
* 4.1 French
* 4.1.1 Colonial History
* 4.1.2 Status of the French language
* 4.1.3 Linguistic Specificities
* 5 History
* 5.1 Early agriculture
* 5.2 Sahelian kingdoms
* 5.3 Colonial period
* 5.4 Independence
* 6 Instability and violence
* 6.1 Terrorism
* 6.2 Human rights issues and political instability
* 6.3 Other challenges
* 7 See also
* 8 References
* 9 Sources
* 10 Further reading
* 11 External links

## Etymology

The term "Sahel" is borrowed from the Arabic name for the region, الساحل al-sāḥil. Sāḥil literally means "coast, shore",[6] which has been explained as a figurative reference to the southern edge of the vast Sahara.[7][8]

## Geography

The lush green of the Sahelian acacia savanna during the rainy summer season in Mali. Note the large baobab amongst the acacia. Herders with livestock and azawakh dogs in the Sahel

The Sahel spans 5,900 km (3,670 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east, in a belt several hundred to a thousand kilometers (c. 600 miles) wide. It covers an area of 3,053,200 square kilometers (1,178,850 sq mi).

Representing a climatic and ecological transition zone with hot semi-desert and steppe conditions, the Sahel region borders the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the dry Sahara desert to the north. This ecoregion is also called the Sahelian Acacia savanna in honour of its most prominent and very drought tolerant genus of tree.[9]

The topography of the Sahel is mainly flat; most of the region lies between 200 and 400 meters (660 and 1,310 ft) in elevation. Several isolated plateaus and mountain ranges rise from the Sahel (e.g. Marrah Mountains, Aïr Mountains, Ennedi Plateau), but are designated as separate ecoregions because their flora and fauna are distinct from the surrounding lowlands (e.g. East Saharan woodlands). Annual rainfall varies from around 100–200 mm (4–8 in) in the north of the Sahel to around 700–1,000 mm (28–39 in) in the south.[9]

### Flora and fauna

The Sahel is mostly covered in grassland and savanna, with areas of woodland and shrubland. Grass cover is fairly continuous across the region, dominated by annual grass species such as Cenchrus biflorus, Schoenefeldia gracilis and Aristida stipoides. Species of acacia are the dominant trees, with Acacia tortilis the most common, along with Senegalia senegal and Senegalia laeta. Other tree species include Adansonia digitata, Commiphora africana, Balanites aegyptiaca, Faidherbia albida, Borassus aethiopum, Vitellaria paradoxa, Olea europaea, Arbutus unedo, Phoenix canariensis, Hyphaene compressa, Cupressus sempervirens, Quercus coccifera, Quercus suber, Pinus nigra, Populus nigra, Ceratonia siliqua, Salix alba, Afzelia africana, Kigelia africana, Sclerocarya birrea, and Boscia senegalensis. In the northern part of the Sahel, areas of desert shrub, including Panicum turgidum and Aristida sieberiana, alternate with areas of grassland and savanna. During the long dry season, many trees lose their leaves and the predominantly annual grasses die.

The Sahel was formerly home to large populations of grazing mammals, including the scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah), dama gazelle (Gazella dama), Dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas), red-fronted gazelle (Gazella rufifrons), the giant prehistoric buffalo (Pelorovis), and Bubal hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus buselaphus), along with large predators, such as the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), the Northwest African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki), the Northeast African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii), and the lion (Panthera leo). The larger species have been greatly reduced in number by over-hunting and competition with livestock, and several species are vulnerable (Dorcas gazelle, cheetah, lion and red-fronted gazelle), endangered (Dama gazelle and African wild dog), or extinct (the Scimitar-horned oryx is probably extinct in the wild, and both Pelorovis and the Bubal hartebeest are now extinct).

The seasonal wetlands of the Sahel are important for migratory birds moving within Africa and on the African-Eurasian flyways.[9]

### Climate

Ennedi Plateau is located at the border of the Sahara and the Sahel 10 year average precipitation during the summer rainy season (May - September) in the Sahel and adjacent regions

The Sahel has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh). The climate is typically hot, sunny, dry and somewhat windy all year long. The Sahel's climate is similar to, but less extreme than, the climate of the Sahara desert located just to the north.

The Sahel mainly receives a low to very low amount of precipitation annually. The steppe has a very long, prevailing dry season and a short rainy season. The precipitation is also extremely irregular, and varies considerably from season to season. Most of the rain usually falls during four to six months in the middle of the year, while the other months may remain absolutely dry. The interior of the Sahel region generally receives between 200 mm and 700 mm of rain yearly. A system of subdivisions often adopted for the Sahelian climate based on annual rainfall is as follows: the Saharan-Sahelian climate, with mean annual precipitation between around 100 and 200 mm (such as Khartoum, Sudan), the strict Sahelian climate, with mean annual precipitation between around 200 and 700 mm (such as Niamey, Niger) and the Sahelian-Sudanese climate, with mean annual precipitation between around 700 and 900 mm (such as Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso). The relative humidity in the steppe is low to very low, often between 10% and 25% during the dry season and between 25% and 75% during the rainy season. The least humid places have a relative humidity under 35%.[10] Annual rain levels were measured to fall between 20 and 40% in a span of two decades from 1931 to 1960 and 1968–1990; the levels recovered slightly in the mid-1990s in some areas, especially in central and eastern areas as far as Senegal.[11]

The Sahel is characterized by constant, intense heat, with an unvarying temperature. The Sahel rarely experiences cold temperatures. During the hottest period, the average high temperatures are generally between 36 and 42 °C (97 and 108 °F) (and even more in the hottest regions), often for more than three months, while the average low temperatures are around 25 to 31 °C (77 to 88 °F). During the "coldest period", the average high temperatures are between 27 and 33 °C (81 and 91 °F) and the average low temperatures are between 15 and 21 °C (59 and 70 °F).[12] Everywhere in the Sahel, the average mean temperature is over 18 °C (64 °F).

The Sahel has a high to very high sunshine duration year-round, between 2,400 hours (about 55% of the daylight hours) and 3,600 hours (more than 80% of the daylight hours). The sunshine duration in the Sahel approaches desert levels, and is comparable to that in the Arabian Desert, for example, even though the Sahel is only a steppe and not a desert. The cloud cover is low to very low. For example, Niamey, Niger has 3,082 hours of bright sunshine; Gao, Mali has near 3,385 hours of sunshine; Timbuktu, Mali has 3,409 sunny hours, and N'Djamena, Chad has 3,205 hours of sunlight.[13][14][15][16]

### Recent droughts

For hundreds of years, the Sahel region has experienced frequent droughts and megadroughts. One megadrought lasted from 1450 to 1700, 250 years.[17] There was a major drought in the Sahel in 1914 caused by annual rains far below average, leading to large-scale famine. From 1951 to 2004, the Sahel experienced some of the most consistent and severe droughts in Africa.[18] The 1960s saw a large increase in rainfall in the region, making the northern drier region more accessible. There was a push, supported by governments, for people to move northwards. When the long drought period from 1968 through 1974 began, grazing quickly became unsustainable and large-scale denuding of the terrain followed. Like the drought in 1914, this led to a large-scale famine, but this time somewhat tempered by international visibility and an outpouring of aid. This catastrophe led to the founding of the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

#### 2010 drought

Between June and August 2010, famine struck the Sahel.[19] Niger's crops failed to mature in the heat, 350,000 faced starvation, and 1,200,000 were at risk of famine.[20] In Chad the temperature reached 47.6 °C (117.7 °F) on 22 June in Faya-Largeau, breaking a record set in 1961 at the same location. Niger tied its highest temperature record set in 1998, also on 22 June, at 47.1 °C in Bilma. That record was broken the next day, when Bilma hit 48.2 °C (118.8 °F). The hottest temperature recorded in Sudan was reached on 25 June, at 49.6 °C (121.3 °F) in Dongola, breaking a record set in 1987.[21] Niger reported on 14 July that diarrhoea, starvation, gastroenteritis, malnutrition and respiratory diseases had sickened or killed many children. The new military junta appealed for international food aid and took serious steps to call on overseas help.[22] On 26 July, the heat reached near-record levels over Chad and Niger,[23] and in northern Niger about 20 people reportedly died of dehydration by 27 July.

### Desertification and soil loss

Camels at a watering hole in the semi-arid Sahel in Chad

The Sahel region faces environmental issues that are contributing to global warming. If the change in climate in the Sahel region "is not slowed-down and desertification possibly reversed through sustainable practices and any form of reforestation, it is only a matter of time before countries like Niger lose their entire landmass to desert due to unchecked unsustainable human practices."[24]: 9 Over-farming, over-grazing, over-population of marginal lands, and natural soil erosion have caused serious desertification of the region.[25][26] This has affected shelter construction, making it necessary to change the used materials. The Woodless Construction project was introduced in Sahel in 1980 by the Development Workshop, achieving since then a high social impact in the region.[27] A major initiative to combat desertification in the Sahel region via reforestation and other interventions is the Great Green Wall.

Major dust storms are a frequent occurrence as well. During November 2004, a number of major dust storms hit Chad, originating in the Bodélé Depression.[28] This is a common area for dust storms, occurring on average on 100 days every year.[29]

Sahel region of Mali

On 23 March 2010, a major sandstorm hit Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, and inland Sierra Leone. Another struck in southern Algeria, inland Mauritania, Mali and northern Ivory Coast[30] at the same time.

Following the drought period of the 1970s and 1980, however, the Sahel began to experience increased rainfall.[31] This may be due to global warming, which can cause changes that may result in changes in large-scale weather patterns, such as increased stronger monsoons, in turn caused by a warmer Atlantic Ocean.[32] Warming of the Mediterranean Sea may also be a factor.[33]

### Protected areas

Protected areas in the Sahel include Ferlo Nord Wildlife Reserve in Senegal, Sylvo-Pastoral and Partial Faunal Reserve of the Sahel in Burkina Faso, Ansonga-Ménake Faunal Reserve in Mali, Tadres Reserve in Niger, and Waza National Park in Cameroon.[34]

## Culture

In Western Sahel, polygamy and child marriage are common.[35] Female genital mutilation is also practiced across the Sahel.[36][37]

### Music

Blues historians and historians of African-American music, such as Paul Oliver and Samuel Charters, have suggested that the essential elements of the blues originated in the Sahel region of West Africa, brought over by Africans via the slave trade.[38] The African slaves brought to South America and the Caribbean were largely from percussion-based musical cultures in southern, coastal West Africa (like southern Nigeria), as well as Central African and Bantu-speaking parts of Africa, whose musical cultures lacked many elements that would become characteristic of the blues.[39] In contrast, many of the slaves brought to North America were from the Sahel region and much more familiar with stringed instruments; the banjo evolved from Sahelian string instruments such as the akonting. Charters found that many Sahelian slaves were from Muslim cultures, favouring stringed, melodic, and solo melismatic singing, which differed from the drum-based music of other African regions, who generally favoured drumming and group chants. These traditions—which were sometimes permitted by plantation owners who feared drums—became tools of rebellion, evolving into the blues.

The historian Sylviane Diouf and ethnomusicologist Gerhard Kubik identify Islamic music as an influence on blues music.[40][41] Diouf notes a striking resemblance between the Islamic call to prayer (originating from Bilal ibn Rabah, a famous Abyssinian African Muslim in the early 7th century) and 19th-century field holler music, noting that both have similar lyrics praising God, melody, note changes, "words that seem to quiver and shake" in the vocal chords, dramatic changes in musical scales, and nasal intonation. She attributes the origins of field holler music to African Muslim slaves who accounted for an estimated 30% of African slaves in America. According to Kubik, "the vocal style of many blues singers using melisma, wavy intonation, and so forth is a heritage of that large region of The Western Sahel that had been in contact with the Islamic world via the Maghreb since the seventh and eighth centuries."[40][41] There was particularly a significant trans-Saharan cross-fertilization between the musical traditions of the Maghreb and the Sahel.[41]

The blue note—a hallmark of blues music and rhythm and blues characterised by flattened thirds, fifths, or sevenths—has deep roots in the musical traditions of the Sahel region of West Africa,[42]and so genres descending from the blues have a strong Sahelian influence. In contrast, the more percussion-based Afro-Brazilian music and Afro-Cuban music have more of a southern, coastal West African, Central African, and Bantu influence, where the blue note is absent; this originated from non-Muslim slaves, who generally favoured drums and group chants. The griot tradition of the Sahel also may have influenced talking blues, and by extension, hip hop.[43]

## Language

### French

French is spoken widely in the Sahel, as many of its nations are former French colonies, with two adopting French as an official language and many more using it colloquially.[44] The Sahel includes parts of Senegal, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan and Eritrea, where French is employed to varying degrees.[45]

#### Colonial History

The French language in the Sahel, as in much of Africa, is a remnant of colonial history and a foreign import to a region characterized by linguistic diversity.[46] After establishing French culture in northern Senegal in the mid-19th century, colonial governors like General Louis Faidherbe pushed deeper into the Sahel's interior, facing opposition from regional leaders. Despite resistance, territory was accrued and placed under the control of lieutenant governors who extracted resources and labor from local populations.[47] The greater Sahel was subsequently organized into the massive territory of French West Africa in 1895, noted for its linguistic diversity.[48]

#### Status of the French language

French has been the official language of most Sahel countries at various points in their history, but the trend of removing its official status has gained momentum since the end of French military intervention in the region in 2022. Since then, the governments of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have stripped French from being an official language, punctuating a broader theme of the Sahel's self-isolation from Paris.[49]

Although there is evidence of its use in nearly every Sahel country, research suggests that French is more often a Lingua franca of business among the elite and educated classes than a conduit of practical everyday dialogue.[50]

West African and Sahel loanwords have entered the lexicon of modern standard French, usually in the context of vernacular or slang elocution. This trend is mostly understood by the wave of African migrants to France since the end of the colonial era, but has intensified since the explosion of the youth population of Africa. Sahel loanwords are challenging the historic rigidity of the French language and its corresponding cultural norms.[51]

#### Linguistic Specificities

Code-switching and linguistic blending is extremely common among French speakers in the Sahel, like other regions known for their linguistic diversity. Loanwords and phonetic irregularities derived from local languages have permeated Sahel French:

* Overt influence of English and even Chinese words in Burkinabè French, such as enjoy "take pleasure/enjoy" and chao/mao "old."
* Ligidi is a Mooré loanword meaning "money."[52]
* C' nekh comes from the French expression c'est bon but replaces bon with the Wolof word nekh, meaning "good" or "pleasant."
* The phoneme /y/ is pronounced more closely to /i/ by most French locutors in the Western Sahel.
* The apical trill pronunciation of /r/, once common in metropolitan France, continues in West Africa despite the more common use of the uvular trill pronunciation by standard French speakers.[53]
* Less phonetic variation exists between the vowels /ø/, /ə/, and /e/ among French speakers in Burkina Faso and Niger; /e/ characterizes the majority of these pronunciations.[52]

## History

### Early agriculture

Around 4000 BC, the climate of the Sahara and the Sahel started to become drier at an exceedingly fast pace. This climate change caused lakes and rivers to shrink significantly and caused increasing desertification. This, in turn, decreased the amount of land conducive to settlements and caused migrations of farming communities to the more humid climate of West Africa.[54]

### Sahelian kingdoms

1905 depiction of ethnic groups in the Sahel

The larger Sahelian kingdoms emerged from 750 AD and erected several large cities in the Niger valley region, including Timbuktu, Gao and Djenné.[55]

The kingdom of Alodia also known as Alwa was a Christian Nubian Kingdom in the Eastern Sahel That reached its Zenith from the 9th to 12th century, it was first mention in 569, Its capital Soba located near modern-day Khartoum, Soba was described as a city of "extensive dwellings and churches full of gold and gardens".[56] Due to the forest-savanna mosaic to their south, the Sahelian states were hindered from expanding into the north Akan state of the Bono state and Yoruba peoples, as mounted warriors were all but useless in the forests. In addition, the horses and camels were susceptible to the humidity and diseases of the tropics.[57]

### Colonial period

The Western Sahel fell to France in the late 19th century as part of French West Africa.[58] Chad was added in 1900 as part of French Equatorial Africa. The French territories in the Sahel were decolonised in 1960.[59]

The Sahel's easternmost region did not fall to the European powers but to the Khedivate of Egypt when it was conquered by Muhammad Ali in the 1820s. By 1899 it came under British rule until granted independence at Egypt's behest in 1956.[60][61][62]

### Independence

## Instability and violence

### Terrorism

According to The Economist, in recent years the Sahel has become the epicenter of terrorist violence, contributing to 35% of all global deaths from terrorism by 2021, with Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group, identified as the world's fastest-growing terrorist organization.[2] In 2023, fatalities from conflict in the central Sahel rose by 38%, according to data from the research organization Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.[63]

In the wake of the Libyan Crisis beginning in 2011,[64] terrorist organizations operating in the Sahel, including Boko Haram, Islamic State and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), have greatly exacerbated the violence, extremism and instability of the region.[65][66] In March 2020, the United States sent a special envoy for the Sahel region to combat the rising violence from terrorist groups.[67] The Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need has highlighted the fact that the Sahel has become one of the most dangerous regions in the world for Christians.[68]

As of 2024, a wave of new military juntas in Africa, favoring Russian mercenaries over Western forces and UN peacekeepers, has intensified violence. This led Mauritania and Chad to disband the G5 Sahel, an anti-terrorism alliance, after the military regimes in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali withdrew.[63]

According to the BBC, the Sahel region has become the global epicenter of terrorism, accounting for over half of all terrorism-related deaths, according to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI). In 2023, the region recorded 3,885 fatalities out of a global total of 7,555, marking a nearly tenfold increase since 2019. The surge in extremist violence is attributed to the expansion of groups like the Islamic State's affiliate in the Sahel and Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), who compete for land and influence while imposing strict Sharia-based governance. Political instability, weak governance, and the rise of military juntas following coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Niger have further fueled the insurgency. These groups sustain their operations through ransom kidnappings, illicit gold mining, and drug trafficking, with the Sahel now a major route for cocaine smuggling from South America to Europe. Meanwhile, governments in the region have shifted their alliances from Western nations to Russia and China, relying on paramilitary groups like the Africa Corps (formerly Wagner) for security assistance, though with limited success. The violence is increasingly spilling into neighboring countries such as Togo and Benin, raising concerns about the broader destabilization of West Africa.[69]

### Human rights issues and political instability

On 9 July 2020, the United States raised concerns over growing number of allegations of human rights violations and abuses by state security forces in Sahel.[70] The US response came after Human Rights Watch released documents regarding the same on 1 July.[71] Reports in March 2022 show militants are expanding and spreading out south of the Sahel.[72]

### Other challenges

Movement of nomads in Chad

The violent herder–farmer conflicts in Nigeria, Mali, Sudan and other countries in the Sahel region have been exacerbated by climate change, land degradation, and rapid population growth.[73][74][75] Droughts and food shortages have been also linked to the Mali War.[76][77]

The Sahel is experiencing more severe weather due to climate change, exemplified by the extreme heatwave of March–April 2024 in Burkina Faso and Mali.[78] This event was intensified by a 1.2 °C global temperature increase from human activities.[79]

## See also

* 2012 Sahel drought
* Community of Sahel–Saharan States
* Pan Sahel Initiative
* Rainwater harvesting in the Sahel
* Sudan (region)
* Sahara Conservation Fund
* Tipping points in the climate system
* Trans-Sahelian Highway

## References

1. ↑ "Violent Extremism in the Sahel | Global Conflict Tracker". 4 September 2025. https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violent-extremism-sahel.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The world's centre of terrorism has shifted to the Sahel". The Economist. 5 March 2022. ISSN 0013-0613. https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2022/03/05/the-worlds-centre-of-terrorism-has-shifted-to-the-sahel.
3. ↑ Clingendael Institute, "The Sahel’s New Geopolitics", June 2024.
4. ↑ Vision of Humanity, "Democracy vs. Security: The Sahel's Geopolitical Realignment", 25 September 2024.
5. ↑ Chason, Rachel (19 February 2025). "Crossroads of Conflict". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2025/africa-sahel/russian-terror-military-influence/.
6. ↑ "Definition grid different of Sahel (British and World English)". http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Sahel.
7. ↑ A System of Modern Geography. E. Huntington & Co.. 1834. pp. 287. https://archive.org/details/asystemmodernge01huntgoog. "sahara ocean of sand."
8. ↑ "Sahel dictionary definition – Sahel defined". http://www.yourdictionary.com/sahel.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Sahelian Acacia savanna". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. http://worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/at0713.
10. ↑ Abiodun, T.; Akanbi, J. (2020). "Environmental Problems, Insecurity In The Sahel Region And Implications For Global Security". Ibadan Journal of Peace & Development 10 (1): 165–180. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349553954.
11. ↑ Khatim Kherraz & Nabil Ben Khatra 2019, p. 8.
12. ↑ "Global Surface Temperature". NASA. https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature.
13. ↑ "Niamey Climate Niamey Temperatures Niamey Weather Averages". http://www.niamey.climatemps.com/.
14. ↑ "Timbuktu Climate Timbuktu Temperatures Timbuktu Weather Averages". http://www.timbuktu.climatemps.com/.
15. ↑ "Gao Climate Gao Temperatures Gao Weather Averages". http://www.gao.climatemps.com/.
16. ↑ "N'Djamena Climate N'Djamena Temperatures N'Djamena Weather Averages". http://www.n-djamena.climatemps.com/.
17. ↑ Brahic, Catherine. "Africa trapped in mega-drought cycle". New Scientist. https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16967-africa-trapped-in-megadrought-cycle.html.
18. ↑ Scholl, Adam. "Map Room: Hidden Waters". World Policy Journal. http://www.worldpolicy.org/journal/winter2012/map-room.
19. ↑ Miller, Jonathan (1 July 2010). "Drought threatens African humanitarian crisis". Channel 4 News. https://www.channel4.com/news/articles/world/africa/drought+threatens+african+humanitarian+crisis/3697427.html.
20. ↑ Foy, Henry (21 June 2010). "Millions face starvation in west Africa, warn aid agencies". The Guardian (London). https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jun/21/millions-face-starvation-west-africa.
21. ↑ Masters, Jeff. "NOAA: June 2010 the globe's 4th consecutive warmest month on record". Weather Underground. Jeff Masters' WonderBlog. http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1544.
22. ↑ "Niger: famine on the horizon?". France 24. 14 July 2010. https://www.france24.com/en/20100625-reporters-niger-famine-horizon-harvests-sahara-junta-coup-appeal-international-aid-mamadou-tandja.
23. ↑ "wonder Blog: Weather Underground". Wonder-ground.com. http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1516.
24. ↑ Orioha, M. K. (September 2018). "Managing Climate Reality in Sub-Sahara Africa". Morganorioha.com. https://www.morganorioha.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Managing-Climate-Reality-in-Sub-Sahara_Africa-2.pdf.
25. ↑ "Causes and Effects of Desertification". http://desertificationb.tripod.com/id3.html.
26. ↑ Schmidt, Laurie J. (18 May 2001). "From the Dust Bowl to the Sahel". NASA.
27. ↑ "Training and employment of locals. [Social Impact. WConstruction. The promotion of Woodless Construction in West Africa (1980–2017)."]. http://sior.ub.edu/jspui/cris/socialimpact/socialimpact00509.
28. ↑ "Dust Storm in the Bodele Depression". NASA. December 2004. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=14230.
29. ↑ Di Liberto, John (13 July 2018). "Dust from the Sahara Desert stretches across the tropical Atlantic Ocean in late June/early July 2018". https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/dust-sahara-desert-stretches-across-tropical-atlantic-ocean-late.
30. ↑ "Earth Snapshot • Sand Storm". http://www.eosnap.com/?tag=sand-storm.
31. ↑ "Re-Greening of the Sahel". Columbia University. https://adaptation.ei.columbia.edu/content/re-greening-sahel.
32. ↑ Pausata, Francesco S.R. (March 2020). "The Greening of the Sahara: Past Changes and Future Implications". One Earth 2 (3): 235–250. doi:10.1016/j.oneear.2020.03.002. Bibcode: 2020OEart...2..235P. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590332220301007.
33. ↑ Biasutti, Michela (27 June 2016). "What brings rain to the Sahel?". Nature Climate Change 6 (10): 897–898. doi:10.1038/nclimate3080. Bibcode: 2016NatCC...6..897B.
34. ↑ Luke, Daramola (7 February 2022). "SERIES 2 | Rising tensions in the Sahel". https://theinformant247.com/series-2-rising-tensions-in-the-sahel/.
35. ↑ "Crisis in the Sahel". http://bixby.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/potts_2013_oasis_crisis_in_the_sahel.pdf.
36. ↑ "Archived copy". http://bixby.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/potts_2013_oasis_crisis_in_the_sahel.pdf.
37. ↑ "UNICEF West and Central Africa". https://www.unicef.org/wca/.
38. ↑ Grass, Randall. "Desert Blues - The Music Moves in Circles". Kosmos Journal 22 (2). https://www.kosmosjournal.org/kj_article/desert-blues-the-music-goes-round-in-circles/.
39. ↑ "The African roots of blues music (the blues scale)". https://adamhudson.org/2021/09/15/the-african-roots-of-african-blues-music-the-blues-scale/.
40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Curiel, Jonathan (15 August 2004). "Muslim Roots of the Blues". SFGate (San Francisco Chronicle). http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/08/15/INGMC85SSK1.DTL.
41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 41.2 Tottoli, Roberto (2014). Routledge Handbook of Islam in the West. Routledge. p. 322. ISBN 9781317744023. https://books.google.com/books?id=KqOQBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA322.
42. ↑ Floyd, Jr., Samuel. "The African roots of blues music (the blues scale)". https://adamhudson.org/.
43. ↑ Kibbee, Brendan. "West African Griots and Musical Personalism". https://cuny.manifoldapp.org/read/open-music-commons/section/dd661779-8537-4277-8920-e37c65a69332.
44. ↑ Brock-Utne, Birgit (2009). Language and Power: The Implications of Language for Peace and Development. Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania: Mkuki na Nyota Publishers. ISBN 9789987081462.
45. ↑ Grove, A. T. (November 1978). "Geographical Introduction to the Sahel". The Geographical Journal 144 (3): 407–415. doi:10.2307/634817. ISSN 0016-7398. Bibcode: 1978GeogJ.144..407G.
46. ↑ Mann, Gregory (8 December 2021), "French Colonialism and The Making of the Modern Sahel", The Oxford Handbook of the African Sahel (Oxford University Press): pp. 35–50, doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198816959.013.9, ISBN 978-0-19-881695-9
47. ↑ "French in West Africa". https://www.africa.upenn.edu/K-12/French_16178.html.
48. ↑ Smith, Leonard V. (31 July 2023). "French Colonialism: From the Ancien Régime to the Present". French Colonialism: 78–82. doi:10.1017/9781108874489.002. ISBN 978-1-108-87448-9.
49. ↑ Hidri, Sghaier (23 May 2024). "The end of an era for the French language?". The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/french-language-colonial-africa-b2486607.html.
50. ↑ "Why the future of French is African". 7 April 2019. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-47790128.
51. ↑ Peltier, Elian; Bashizi, Arlette; Morales, Hannah Reyes (12 December 2023). "How Africans Are Changing French — One Joke, Rap and Book at a Time". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/12/world/africa/africa-french-language.html.
52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 Reutner, Ursula, ed (21 September 2017). Manuel des francophonies. De Gruyter. doi:10.1515/9783110348217. ISBN 978-3-11-034821-7.
53. ↑ Boula de Mareüil, Philippe; Rouas, Jean-Luc; Yapomo, Manuela (27 August 2011). "In search of cues discriminating West-african accents in French". Interspeech 2011 (ISCA: ISCA): 725–728. doi:10.21437/interspeech.2011-280.
54. ↑ O'Brien, Patrick K., ed (2005). Oxford Atlas of World History. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 22–23.
55. ↑ Chirikure, S. (26 February 2018). "Precolonial Metallurgy and Mining across Africa". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.148. ISBN 978-0-19-027773-4.
56. ↑ Zarroug 1991, p. 20. sfn error: no target: CITEREFZarroug1991 (help)
57. ↑ Hunwick, J. O. (2003). Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Saʿdi's Taʾrīkh Al-Sūdān Down to 1613, and Other Contemporary Documents. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-12822-4.
58. ↑ De Leon, Daniel (1886). "The Conference at Berlin on the West-African Question". Political Science Quarterly 1 (1): 103–139. doi:10.2307/2139304. ISSN 0032-3195.
59. ↑ Chafer, Tony (2005). "Chirac and 'la Françafrique': No Longer a Family Affair". Modern & Contemporary France 13: 7–23. doi:10.1080/0963948052000341196. "Since political independence, France has maintained a privileged sphere of influence—the so-called 'pré carré'—in sub-Saharan Africa, based on a series of family-like ties with its former colonies.".
60. ↑ Lahav, Pnina (1 July 2015). "The Suez Crisis of 1956 and Its Aftermath: A Comparative Study of Constitutions, Use of Force, Diplomacy and International Relations". Boston University Law Review 95 (4): 1297. https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/200.
61. ↑ Frankema, Ewout; Williamson, Jeffrey; Woltjer, Pieter (12 August 2017). "An Economic Rationale for the West African Scramble? The Commercial Transition and the Commodity Price Boom of 1835–1885". Journal of Economic History: 231–267. https://www.ewoutfrankema.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/RationaleScramble.JEH_.2018.pdf.
62. ↑ Crowe, Sibyl; Crowe, Sibyl (1970). The Berlin West African Conference, 1884 - 1885 (Reprint [der Ausg.] New York 1942 ed.). Westport, Conn: Negro Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-8371-3287-7.
63. ↑ 63.0 63.1 "Mauritania is a beacon of stability in the coup-prone Sahel". The Economist. 27 June 2024. ISSN 0013-0613. https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2024/06/27/mauritania-is-a-beacon-of-stability-in-the-coup-prone-sahel.
64. ↑ "Violent Extremism in the Sahel". https://cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violent-extremism-sahel.
65. ↑ "Sahel". https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/sahel.
66. ↑ "Violent Extremism in the Sahel". https://www.csis.org/programs/transnational-threats-project/militancy-and-arc-instability/militancy-and-arc-instability-2.
67. ↑ Pamuk, Humeyra (6 March 2020). "U.S. creates new envoy position to counter rising terrorism in Sahel". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-sahel-idUSKBN20T2ZJ.
68. ↑ "Sahel: ACN comes to the aid of Christians displaced by terror". 8 February 2024. https://acninternational.org/sahel-acn-comes-to-the-aid-of-christians-displaced-by-terror/.
69. ↑ Orrell, Harriet (5 March 2025). "Africa's Sahel: The region with more 'terror deaths' than rest of world combined". https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8vyl3j5kko.
70. ↑ "Allegations of Human Rights Violations and Abuses in the Sahel". https://2017-2021.state.gov/allegations-of-human-rights-violations-and-abuses-in-the-sahel/.
71. ↑ "Sahel: Atrocities by the security forces are fueling recruitment by armed Islamists". Human Rights Watch. 1 July 2020. https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/07/01/sahel-atrocities-security-forces-are-fueling-recruitment-armed-islamists.
72. ↑ Phillips, M. M. (2 March 2022). "Militants Are Edging South Toward West Africa's Most Stable and Prosperous States". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/sahel-based-militants-edging-south-toward-west-africas-most-stable-and-prosperous-states-11646221800.
73. ↑ Nugent, Ciara (28 June 2018). "How Climate Change Is Spurring Land Conflict in Nigeria". Time. https://time.com/5324712/climate-change-nigeria/.
74. ↑ Doucet, Lyse (21 January 2019). "The battle on the frontline of climate change in Mali". BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/the-reporters-46921487.
75. ↑ "Farmer-Herder Conflicts on the Rise in Africa". ReliefWeb. 6 August 2018. https://reliefweb.int/report/world/farmer-herder-conflicts-rise-africa.
76. ↑ "The Sahel in flames". 2019. https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/in-depth/sahel-flames-Burkina-Faso-Mali-Niger-militancy-conflict.
77. ↑ Arsenault, Chris (27 April 2015). "Climate change, food shortages, and conflict in Mali". Al-Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/04/climate-change-food-shortages-conflict-mali-150426105617725.html.
78. ↑ "Extreme Sahel heatwave that hit highly vulnerable population at the end of Ramadan would not have occurred without climate change". 18 April 2024. https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/extreme-sahel-heatwave-that-hit-highly-vulnerable-population-at-the-end-of-ramadan-would-not-have-occurred-without-climate-change/.
79. ↑ Ibukun, Yinka (18 April 2024). "Africa's Sahel Can Expect More Deadly Heat Waves, Study Shows". Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-18/africa-s-sahel-can-expect-more-deadly-heat-waves-study-shows.

## Sources

* Azam (ed.), Conflict and Growth in Africa: The Sahel, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1999), ISBN 92-64-17101-0.
* Lagha CHEGROUCHE, "L'arc géopolitique de l'énergie : le croissant énergétique", in Le Soir d'Algérie, 19/12/2010 Script error: The function "in_lang" does not exist.
* Khatim Kherraz; Nabil Ben Khatra (2019). Atlas of Land Cover Maps: Sahel and West Africa. Carthage, Tunisia: Sahara and Sahel Observatory. ISBN 978-9938-933-19-2. https://www.oss-online.org/sites/default/files/2023-03/OSS-BRICKS-Atlas_En.pdf.

## Further reading

* Dai, A.; Lamb, P.J.; Trenberth, K.E.; Hulme, M.; Jones, P.D.; Xie, P. (2004). "The recent Sahel drought is real". International Journal of Climatology 24 (11): 1323–1331. doi:10.1002/joc.1083. Bibcode: 2004IJCli..24.1323D. http://www.mikehulme.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/2004-dai-et-al-sahel.pdf. .
* Ellis, William S. (August 1987). "The Stricken Land". National Geographic 172 (2): 140–179. ISSN 0027-9358. OCLC 643483454.
* The Growing Crisis in Africa's Sahel Region: Joint Hearing before the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations and the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa and the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade of the Committee in Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, May 21, 2013
* Moseley, W.G. 2008. "Strengthening Livelihoods in Sahelian West Africa: The Geography of Development and Underdevelopment in a Peripheral Region." Geographische Rundschau International Edition, 4(4): 44–50. [1]
* Simon, L., A. Mattelaer and A. Hadfield (2012) "A Coherent EU Strategy for the Sahel". Brussels: European Parliament (DG for External Policies).

## External links

* "Sahelian Acacia savanna". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. http://worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/at0713.
* World Wildlife Fund, ed (2001). "Sahelian Acacia savanna". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20100308064632/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/at/at0713.html.

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