ReliefWeb

The "combined" Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI - NDVI) image shows Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomalies (around) and NDVI (for) Africa during January 2000. The upper part of the legend shows SST anomalies (Blues are -ve SST departures, reds are +ve SST departures). As you can note there is a large pool of warm water off the coast of Southern Africa on the order of +1.0 to + 2..0 deg. C above normal) even off the coast off Namibia where the cold upwelling Bangeula current is usually dominant. These conditions began to develop way back in November and to a large extent account for the recent heavy rains over the region. The lower end of the legend shows NDVI anomalies for the same time period.