COMITÉ PERMANENT INTER- ÉTATS DE LUTTE PERMANENT INTERSTATE COMMITTEE CONTRE LA SÉCHERESSE DANS LE SAHEL FOR DROUGHT CONTROL IN THE SAHEL
AGRHYMET MONTHLY BULLETIN N° M-05/05 July 2005
The overall good and rather well distributed rainfall in time and space, early sowing, good vegetative state of crops and relatively calm phytosanitary situation should not mask the July localized crop water stress, flooding and overflow of bodies of water in areas to be monitored during this cropping season.
The July 2005 monthly rainfall was poorly distributed in time. Admittedly, the fortnight of the month under review was characterized by abundant and well distributed rains. On the other hand, a break in rainfall, which ranged from a few days to two weeks, was observed during the second fortnight of July. As a result, the rainfall amounts recorded were below normal in many locations of the agricultural zone of the CILSS member countries. These localised rainfall deficits were observed in the Wilayas of Guidimaka and Hodh el Chargui, Mauritania, the southern part of the area of Tambacounda, the Ziguinchor and Niaye areas, Senegal, Western Gambia, almost all over the agricultural zone of Guinea Bissau and Mali respectively, southwestern and central Burkina Faso, the area of Tillabéry and the southern part of that of Dosso, Niger, and the prefectures1 of Guéra, Salamat, Ouaddaï, Middle Chari, Eastern and Western Logones, Chad (figures 1.1 and 1.2). Seasonal cumulative rainfall as at July 31st, 2005, was deficient in the coastal Niaye strip, Senegal, some places in the areas of Kayes, Sikasso and Ségou, Mali, Southwestern and Western Burkina Faso, here and there in the northeastern and southern parts of the areas of Tillabéry and Dosso respectively, Niger and the extreme South of Chad (figures 1.3 and 1.4).
With the start of the rainy season in earnest in July across the entire Sahel, characterized this year by relatively regular rains from June to July with rather significant cumulative rainfall, water levels rose in virtually all the perennial or ephemeral watercourses. The regularity of rains until mid-July across Central Sahel resulted in unusual streamflows in some temporary watercourses. The break in rainfall observed during the last dekad of July in the same area slowed down the rise in water levels. At the same period in Western Sahel, appreciable rains fell, which resulted in flooding in some places, particularly in The Gambia and Mali. These good rainfall conditions are responsible for a substantial rise in water levels in medium-sized reservoirs and even the overflows in some bodies of water.