The Sahel is a narrow belt of land in West Africa. It is a strip of dry land about 5500 kilometers long and 450 kilometres wide. It lies at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert and is located between the dry desert land to the north and the forest areas to the south. The Sahel has a tropical semi-arid climate. The temperature is high throughout the year. There is little rainfall in the Sahel (between 100-150 mm and 600mm). It is concentrated during summer months and can be unreliable. It may be very dry in some years, especially if a large area of low pressure, which brings rain, is not carried North over the Sahel by strong winds.