Climate Variability in Northern Africa: Understanding Droughts in the Sahel and the Maghreb

The climates of North Africa are still relatively poorly known and understood. Yet, just to the north and south of the Sahara desert are regions that are coming to be recognized as having climates that are among the most variable in the world. The variability is on timescales of interannual-to-decadal and beyond, with the decadal variability being among the most pronounced so far identified in the historical climate records of the 20th Century.