The Sahelian drought may have ended during the 1990s

Abstract

The severe drought that affects the Sahel since the late 1960s has been very closely studied and monitored during the last three decades. Recently, after several wet years, it was questioned from a statistical point of view whether the drought was over. The conclusions of a recent study were that the rainfall deficit was not over at the end of 2000 and that the drought continues. The analysis of the change points in the station rainfall time series suggests differentiating these findings. There is now growing evidence that there is a potential shift towards a more humid state. However, the present analysis shows that the assumption that a significant increase in rainfall may have occurred around the early 1990s could only be verified at the customary confidence level in about 10 years from now.