Case Study → Contribution of Human Activity, Increasing Risk of Drought, Sahel Region (Edexcel A-Level Geography): Revision Notes

Case Study → Contribution of Human Activity, Increasing Risk of Drought, Sahel Region

Context	● Semi-arid area South of the Sahara Desert has always been prone to droughts ○ Since 1960s been a sig ↓ in rainfall
Physical (possibility)	● ENSO cycles ● Variability ○ Seasonally approx 85% of annual rainfall in summer ○ Changes on an annual basis
Human Causes	🔗 Humans do not cause the drought but they act like a positive feedback loop, enhancing its impacts ● Air pollution from Europe and N America cooled the Earth, preventing tropical rains moving Northwards ● Higher sea temps (from global warming) prevented moist Atlantic air moving over W Sahel ● Desertification has resulted from overuse of land due to population pressures

•                                                                       The Sahel Drought *