What is Harmattan?

Information about Harmattan

The Harmattan is a dry and dusty West African trade wind. It blows south from Sahara into the Gulf of Guinea between the end of November and the middle of March (winter).[1]

On its passage over the desert it picks up fine dust particles (between 0.5 and 10 micrometres). When the Harmattan blows hard, it can push dust and sand all the way to South America.

Effects

In some countries in West Africa, the heavy amount of dust in the air can severely limit visibility and block the sun for several days,[2] comparable to a heavy fog. The effect caused by the dust and sand stirred by these winds is known as the Harmattan haze, and costs airlines millions of dollars in cancelled and diverted flights each year. The interaction of the Harmattan with monsoon winds can cause tornadoes.[1]

In Niger, people say that men and animals become increasingly irritable when this wind has been blowing for a while, giving it a bad reputation. However, the cool wind brings relief from the oppressive heat, which is why the Harmattan has earned the nickname "The Doctor".

See also

References

1. ^ "Harmattan". Encyclopædia Britannica. (2007). Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 
2. ^ Tuareg unrest. BBC, via Temoust (2007-09-07). Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
  • Ikekeonwu, Clara (2007). The phonetics of Nigerian languages. Munich: Lincom Europa, 62. 
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa (which coincides with common reckonings of the region) includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of around 5 million
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trade winds are a pattern of wind that are found in bands around the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds are the prevailing winds in the tropics, blowing from the high-pressure area in the horse latitudes towards the low-pressure area around the equator.
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Sahara (Arabic: الصحراء الكبرى, aṣ-ṣaḥrā´ al-koubra, "The Great Desert", (
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Gulf of Guinea is the part of the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Africa. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude ) is in the gulf.
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1 micrometre =
SI units
010−6 m 010−3 mm
US customary / Imperial units
010−6 ft 010−6 in
A micrometre (American spelling: micrometer; symbol µm
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South America is a continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie
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FOG can be an acronym for...
  • the tool "Flexible Object Generator"
  • the tool "Fragmented-Object Generator"
  • Fiber Optic Gulf - a submarine telecommunications cable linking the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait
  • Fibre optic gyroscope

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monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind which lasts for several weeks with no lasting climatic effects. The term includes almost all of the phenomena associated with the annual weather cycle within the tropical and subtropical land regions of the earth.
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tornado is a violently rotating column of air which is in contact with both a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, a cumulus cloud base and the surface of the earth. Tornadoes come in many sizes but are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel, whose narrow end
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Motto
"Fraternité, Travail, Progrès"   (French)
"Fraternity, Work, Progress"
Anthem
La Nigérienne
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A Khamaseen is a cyclonic type wind that is common in Egypt and Sudan towards the end of March and April of each year. Hot weather ensues, as well as sandstorms. According to the Turkish Calendar of Storms it is a storm of three days, to be expected around February 1.
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The prevailing winds are the trends in speed and direction of wind over a particular point on the earth's surface. A region's prevailing winds often show global patterns of movement in the earth's atmosphere. Prevailing winds are the causes of waves as they push the ocean.
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Encyclopædia Britannica

Title page of the Eleventh Edition
Author 4,411 named contributors; editorial staff
Country Scotland (1768–1895)
England (1895–1901)
United States (1901–present)
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