Knowra West African monsoon West African monsoon The West African monsoon is a seasonal circulation that brings summer rainfall to West Africa and the Sahel. It forms as moist southwesterly winds move inland from the Gulf of Guinea toward the continent.
Intertropical Convergence Zone : A near-equatorial zone where trade winds converge, air rises, and rainfall commonly develops. Its seasonal northward migration helps shift the monsoon rain belt over West Africa.
Sahel : A semiarid transition zone south of the Sahara, stretching across Africa from the Atlantic toward the Red Sea. The Sahel receives much of its annual rainfall during the monsoon season.
African Humid Period : A past interval when much of the Sahara was wetter and supported lakes, grasslands, and human settlement. It shows how changes in monsoon rainfall have reshaped the region over millennia.
Sahel greening : An increase in vegetation cover across parts of the Sahel observed since the severe drought decades of the late twentieth century. Changing rainfall is one influence on the vegetation recovery associated with this trend.
Sahel rainfall variability : Variations in the amount, timing, and distribution of rainfall across the Sahel from year to year and decade to decade. Its causes combine ocean influences, atmospheric dynamics, and land conditions.
African easterly jet : A mid-tropospheric band of easterly winds over Africa, strongest during boreal summer. Its shear helps organize disturbances that can grow into rain-producing storms.
Gulf of Guinea : A northeastern extension of the tropical Atlantic Ocean along the coast of West Africa. It supplies much of the moisture carried inland by monsoon winds.
Heinrich events : Episodes of large iceberg discharge into the North Atlantic during the last glacial period. Their abrupt climate effects are linked to major shifts in West African monsoon strength.
Rain-fed agriculture : Crop production that depends primarily on precipitation rather than irrigation. Monsoon timing and amount strongly shape harvest prospects across the Sahel.
Atlantic Multidecadal Variability : A pattern of multidecadal fluctuations in North Atlantic sea-surface temperatures and related climate conditions. Its relationship with Sahel rainfall helps explain some long-term monsoon fluctuations.
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