The socioeconomic and environmental impact of Saharan dust storms associated with high-wind events in the lee of the Hoggar, Tebesti, and Ajr  mountains: numerical simulations and observations Melvyn A. Shapiro (NOAA) Hsiao-ming Hsu (NCAR) Natelie Mahowald (NCAR) Anthony Slingo (NERC)

Tebesti AJR

Meningitis is endemic in much of the arid Sahel region of West Africa DAKAR, 22 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - Across Africa’s arid ‘meningitis belt’ that runs from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east, thousands have fallen ill and 580 have died from the meningitis virus which hits the region with lethal effect every dry season.

TOMS Satellite Image TOMS = Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer Used for detecting absorbing aerosols based on the spectral contrast at 340 and 380 nm in the upwelling ultraviolet spectrum. TOMS is sensitive to UV-absorbing aerosols such as mineral dust, volcanic ash and soot aerosol from fossil fuel combustion sources and biomass burning. Because the UV surface reflectivity is typically low and nearly constant over both land and water, TOMS can detect aerosols over continents as well as oceans. The UV spectral contrast can be used in a non-quantitative way as an aerosol index.

Towards A Multi-hazard Early Warning And Response System In West Africa: A Multi-hazard Approach To Forecasting Adverse Health Impacts In Africa

The voyage of discovery lies not in finding new landscapes,

but in having new eyes.