Creeping desert sand threatens Mauritania's date farmers
Some 450 kilometres north of the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, the oasis village of Azougui faces an encroaching desert. The creeping sand is emblematic of changes in the region, where temperatures are rising 1.5 times faster than the global average, according to a 2022 UN report. Drought and sudden floods are decimating the date palms relied upon by many as a source of income.