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SAHEL WEATHER AND CROP SITUATION - June 1997

Year of publication 1997

Author Trade and Markets Division

Product type Book (stand-alone)

Series title Sahel Weather and Crop Situation Report

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) Rains started in late March/early April in Burkina Faso and became abundant over the south and centre in late May. The rainy season started in April in the extreme south of Chad, Mali and Niger. First significant rains reached the east of Guinea Bissau and the south-east of Senegal in early May and eastern The Gambia in late May. The last Meteosat sattelite image for the first dekad of June indicates that cloud coverage progressed northwards over the Sahel region, especially in its western parts . Substantial rains have covered most parts of Senegal, The Gambia and western Mali. They also reached southern Mauritania, marking an early start of the rainy season in the western part of the Sahel. Rains decreased somewhat in central Burkina Faso and western Niger but increased in south-western and central Niger and some first rains may have been received in the Sahelian zone of Chad. Land preparation and planting are progressing following the onset of the rains. Dry planting is also under way, notably in Senegal. Seasonably dry conditions prevail in Cape Verde and northern parts of Mali, Niger and Chad. Grasshoppers are reported in Ouaddaï region of Chad. Moderate numbers of solitary Desert Locust adults and perhaps a few small groups will move west across the Red Sea to the interior of Sudan and perhaps continue towards West Africa over Chad and Niger if they find dry conditions en route. Small-scale egg laying could occur with the onset of the rains.

Language English

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