After Decades of Drought, Water Is Rising in the African Sahel

Water tables across the Sahel have risen by 13 feet or more in places, Lake Chad is recovering, and wells are filling as the region experiences its wettest period in decades. Near-extinct oryx are returning, farms are prospering with irrigation water for the first time in decades, and farmers are nurturing new trees.

The trend appears long-term, though some hydrologists note heavier rainfall alone cannot fully explain the groundwater revival; land-use changes and traditional water harvesting efforts also contribute.