1967+ Horn of Africa

Below are maps of Africa depicting the oldest drought area and the upwind source of the CO2 plumes, Saudi Arabia et al. The countries suffering the drought since 1967 are listed on the left map. The center map is an enlargement of the global wind patterns map on the right. The global winds arise from the rotation of the earth in conjunction with equatorial areas receiving more solar radiation. On the center map, note how the right pink arrow has its head on the Horn of Africa which has the countries listed on the left map. This arrow of wind flow comes down from the oil fields of the Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, and Kuwait.

This East Africa drought is related to, but distinct from, the West Africa Sahel Drought which has its CO2 plumes from Libya, Algeria and the largest producer of CO2 plumes, Nigeria (1/4 of the world's total flared C02).

Drought on the Horn of Africa switching with rain missing map. Notice that the missing rain looks like the primary wind patterns. Compare this to fire patterns at bottom of page.	Primary Wind of Mid-East Oil Fields (upper right is Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait & Oman.)  Global Wind Patterns	Gulf War Kuwaiti Oil Field Fires: Space shuttle shots of oil plumes show how wind carries to the southwest toward Africa. More Pictures

For actual satellite images of wind and cloud movement over hours or days
click Prevailing Winds.

Drought Description

• Began in 1967 about the time upwind Mid-East oil production exceeded 8 million barrels a day.
• Nations: The World Food Program says the drought has hit the nations of Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia and Sudan.
• As the production of CO2 plumes have increased in size and duration, the drought envelope has increased from the countries on the Horn of Africa to contiguous countries: Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda.
• Somalia:  010715CNN
  • "Nearly a million Somalis are affected by drought in large areas of their country, a minister in the new transitional government said on Sunday.
  • "'The aging wells are drying up much faster than expected because of the severity of the drought and overcrowding,'"
  • "Thousands of rural families had been forced to move from their homes in search of food and water, he said.
  • "The Horn of Africa country has experienced many serious droughts, which frequently lead to clashes as rival groups fight over scarce grazing for their livestock."
• Even Saudi Arabia is not immune to the conditions that it is creating
  • "Saudis Worry as They Waste Their Scarce Water" 030126NYT
  • "Saudis Pray for Rain; Cleric Blames Sin" 031113 NewsDay

Upwind Oil Field Development

• The MidEast became the world's largest oil field: Saudi Arabia which flares a majority of its gas--DOE Report.
• Egyptian and Sudanese oil fields contribute to the dessication of the winds behind the dessertification of the sub-Sahara.

Terminating Factor:

• Has not terminated but it did abate for a short period with the 1973-74 OPEC oil embargo: "For seven long painful years there was a drought in . . . the Sudano-Sahel region of Africa. Whether by divine providence ... or by meterological chance, the rains have returned to the Sahel." (Nation 220: 75FE22-197) [Wasn't divine chance but cartel diminished its carbon dioxide flaring.]
• Saudi Arabia is developing huge gas fields, previously untapped, for domestic industrial production:
  The total amount of carbon dioxide released on the Horn of Africa countries will increase
• Saudi opens fields to foreigners for the first time in decades to increase gas production: (010628 NYT)
  • "Saudi Arabia uses about four billion cubic feet of gas a day"
  • "By 2003, the country will be able to produce 7 billion feet daily, but that will still not be enough. Demand is expected to increase to 12 billion to 14 billion cubic feet of gas daily by 2025, meaning that unless there are major new discoveries, Saudi Arabia will use all its gas domestically."
  • "no export potential" [This means all will be burned locally with near-Africa suffering worst droughts and distant areas suffering deluges.]
• Opec Wants Welfare: In anticipation of the oil disappearing, Opec expects the rest of the world to continue paying to maintain the population and lifestyles builtup with oil revenues. They don't understand that when the oil gives out all the other nations will be undergoing massive social, economic and political upheaval which will make collapse of the Soviet Union look like a tempest in a teapot. The wealth upon which civilization is built and maintained is the time-savings of oil which humanity is squandering at greater rates each day. This is akin to a father who sells his daughters expecting the Johns to donate their daughters to the bordello after the his daughters have died from abuse. Even if the rest of the world won't have oil-gone problems, the history of ignoring civil war in non-oil producing nations (Dafur) should forecast the OPEC future. 031212CNN

The below maps show dryness and fires along the equator downwind from the oil fields of the Arabian peninsula. The map on the left is full-size of the above map that has been animated with the names of African nations. These maps are similar to the location of oil fields and droughts in Western Canada.

	This satellite image shows six months of fires in Africa. The below graph (repeated from above) shows the winds from the Arabian Peninsula oil fields above the equator (green line).