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unsung hero of African
agriculture, has had to
import 1.5 million tons of
grain this year . NormaJiy
accounting for nearly 30
percent of Africa's maize
production, it us ually
manages to export grain,
principally corn (maize or
"mealies"), to other Afri–
can countries, despite for–
midable political obsta–
eles.
In the Sahelian region
of West Africa, tbe situa–
tion seems like a contin-
uation of a long night-
mare that started in the
late 1960s. I n Ghana,
already weighed down
with two million ret urn-
WEATHER CONDITIONS IN APRIL·MAY1983
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.
....
..
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ees who were forced to go
home by Nigeria, starva–
tion is rampant. Bushfires
destroyed 40 percent of
that nation's crops. To the
north, 1.6 million Mauri–
tanians normally require
130,000 tons of grain
annually to survive. This
year's harvest was on ly
20,000 tons.
c::::J
Normal to near-normal rainfall
-
Drought
,... Flooding and heavy rains
I=:::J
Warm water associated with El Niño
c:::J
Semi-drought
-
Drought followed by flooding
@)
Cyclones
The conditions of drought and flooding , etc. do not necessarily prevail over a whole nation,
although in sorne instances thls ls the case. Rather, this map shows what conditions affected
significan! areas in each na!ion.
.
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And in lvory Coast, raging fires
dcstroyed 1.5 millíon acres of plan–
tations and forest lands in addition
to 65 percent of that nation's
crops.
At one point this year, almost all
of the nations of the Southern Hemi-
sphere-and many north of the
eq uator-were affl icted wi th
drought. The area is inhabited by
more tban one quarter of humanity.
To date, the loss of life has been
minimal, but the potential for fam–
ine to take a heavy toll looms on the
horizon for more than 200,000 in the
Drought in Sahelian West Africa
southern Phil ippines, more than a
million in Indonesia, severa! million
in Africa and-incredibly- more
than 100 mi Ilion in India.
Additionally, the amount of
property
loss
worldwide through
drought-caused fires has been stag–
gcring. One estímate in March of