London - Rain is coming to a parched area of Africa and scientists believe it is a side-effect of climate change.
The Sahel, a semi-arid expanse across the middle of Africa which borders the Sahara, suffered decades of sparse rainfall which only ended in 1993.
Around 100 000 people died of starvation after crops failed, a famine which inspired the 1985 Live Aid concerts.
Now researchers claim that an increase in rainfall across the region is an unexpected benefit of climate change.
Scientists at Reading University said that three-quarters of the increase in rainfall has been caused by rising temperatures which they say is caused by a man-made increase in greenhouse gases.
Professor Rowan Sutton of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science said a computer simulation had ruled out other factors such as changes in sea temperatures and dust or soot particles in the atmosphere which can cause rain to fall.
He added that the change was on a “continental scale” but could just be a “temporary boon.” Roughly an extra inch of rain a year now falls on the Sahel compared to the 1964 to 1993 droughts.
But the impact of warming temperatures may not be all good news. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said overall Africa will face heatwaves, rising sea levels, flooding and drought, crop failures and disease.
Daily Mail