Rainfall changes in the savannah zone of northern Ghana 1961–2010

Rainfall variability is described as an integral part of the climatology of West Africa, with high inter-annual and multi-decadal variability of alternate dry and wet periods between 20 and 30 years. Earlier studies identified a dry period throughout the 1970s and 1980s that decimated economic activities and rural livelihoods. Since the year 2000, there have been reports of a recovery with the potential to improve agriculture. This study, using annual rainfall data from four synoptic stations in the savannah zone of northern Ghana, confirms the observed recovery but demonstrates that it may not be enough to improve the region’s widespread rainfed agricultural production.