Past, present and future of climate change in the Sahel

It is now established that late 20th century drought in the Sahel was caused by subtle changes in global sea surface temperatures. Furthermore, that aerosols and greenhouse gases contributed to these subtle changes. Yet the long-standing hypothesis that invoked local land degradation to explain the persistence of drought is still influential. Here I will trace the path that has brought us to understand the causes of climate change in this semi-arid/marginal monsoon region, highlighting the role of the oceans in connecting past and future. In concluding, I will return to the land degradation narrative, and its more recent counterpart, termed “re-greening”, to provide context for thinking about adaptation to climate change.