A recent study suggests that groundwater is an answer to water shortages in African countries south of the Sahara Desert, This finding could help millions of people in an area which is expected to be strongly affected by climate change.

WaterAid, an international non-profit group, and the British Geological Survey (BGS), a British government organization, carried out the research.【小题1】

The report released in March said underground water could help develop agriculture in the area. Additional water resources could help farming in an area where only three to five percent of agricultural land is irrigated (灌溉). For example, BGS information shows Senegal has an aquifer (地下水层) that has been kept in good condition by years of rainfall【小题2】Experts say it is hard to find scientists who are trained at finding underground water.

【小题3】When a well in the village began to dry up in 2021, the government dug another one. That well started to dry up, too. Then the town raised US $5, 000 to dig a new well last year. But that well also failed. The most dependable aquifers can be 400 meters underground.【小题4】Building a well that deep costs about US $20, 000.

“We can’t drink enough to satisfy our thirst,” said Oumou. Drame. She is 40 years old and a mother of five. “We don’t sleep at night.【小题5】. From very early in the morning until now we are looking for water,” said Drame.