Southern Africa has been experiencing an Agricultural disaster this year, and the effects have spread to the Sahel in the North, where rains failed in June, as, according to a story on CNN Parched West Africa seeks help from above. "Thousands of people across the West African state of Niger turned out at Muslim prayer meetings on Tuesday to ask for rain, hoping to save their failing crops and avoid famine." Niger is one of the countries that sits just on the edge of the Sahara desert in Africa. "Niger's rainfall in June was down 60 percent on last year and below the average of the past 30 years. Around 4,000 people, including President Tandja Mamadou, gathered to pray for rain in Niger's capital and similar meetings were held across the impoverished country. Appeals for rain by imams in Mali at Friday's prayers appeared to have been answered over the weekend, when torrential rains in the capital Bamako took part of the blame for a low turnout in a parliamentary election." While heavy rains did fall it remains to be seen whether or not it will be enough.

No relief is in sight for Southern Africa as the expected famine of the closing months of this year looms into view as food stocks run out and the appeal for funds, which has gone on for months, still has not been answered. Even more ominous, however is the emerging drought that I have been monitoring on the Indian subcontinent for the last several months. The subcontinent is home to over 1.3 billion people, and now the emerging drought is hitting the area right in the bread basket. The drought is also impacting agriculture in North America, with the latest predictions from the U.S. Drought Monitor suggesting that the drought will continue its rapid spread for the rest of the year, eventually impacting 49 states. The graphics show the deterioration in India (with the red areas suffering from the spreading drought, and the lack of monsoon rains) and the images of the United States show the rapid progress of the most severe catagory of drought (extreme drought), with the first graphic showing the situation on May 11 of this year and the second showing the rapid expansion of the severe drought as of July 20th (shown on the map as the dark brown color).


According to the reports just beginning to come out on the situation revealed over the last few months by the maps above, The Indian government is meeting to discuss emergency measures. some farmers have avoided planting to avoid losing their seeds and others have watched as the dryness and scorching heat have withered and destroyed their crops. The monsoon rains must fall within the next five to ten days to avoid an agricultural disaster in the Indian subcontinent, with the worst hit areas being the agricultural bread basket of India. Worse yet, no rain is in the forecast. The drought is the most wide spread ever, with rivers and reservoirs running dry, and even ground water sinking in levels. The monsoon season, during which the subcontinent receives 80 per cent of its annual rain will be over by September, and already drinking water is being shipped into affected areas. What little rain that is forecast is predicted to be sparse, with the monsoons, which begin early in June, already almost two months late and with close to 1 billion people directly dependant on agriculture for their survival in the region, this could become one of the greatest calamities of our time, even overshadowing the already emerging disaster in Africa.