Africa is one of the hottest continents in the world, with six countries featuring in the top ten warmest places on the planet.
Five of those are located in the Sahel region, which expands 3,670 miles from the Atlantic Ocean in the West to the Red Sea in the east.
The Sahel has a hot, semi-arid climate characterised by very high temperatures year-round.
It has a long, intense dry season from October to May, followed by a brief, irregular rainy season linked to the West African monsoon.
Mean temperatures range between 21.9C and 36.4C, but these are likely to go up due to the effects of global warming.
Temperature increases in the region are projected to be 1.5 times higher than in the rest of the world, raising the likelihood of more severe droughts.
Given its intense climate, it will come as no surprise to learn that the hottest country in the world is located in the Sahel.
According to data supplied by the World Bank Group, Burkina Faso is the hottest country on the planet, with an average temperature of 30.4C, above its closest rival Mali (29.2C).
Both countries experienced an extreme heatwave in April, with mercury rising above 45C.
Scientists from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) said the heatwave was a once-in-a-200-year event.
However, they warned that “these trends will continue with future warming”.
The extreme heat led to a spike in hospitalisations and deaths in both countries.
In the Gabriel Toure hospital in Bamako, the capital of Mali, more than 100 deaths were reported between April 1 and 4, compared with 130 for the entire month of March.
A lack of data in the affected countries makes it impossible to precisely estimate the number of heat-related deaths, said the WWA.
They added there were likely hundreds, if not thousands, of other heat-related casualties.
Droughts have been a common event in the Sahel since the 1970s, with some of the most severe occurring in 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2012.
