Hot

So, a little more on our trip to Niger.

On the left (in a photo taken by John) you can see Narba leading the way for Jessica and me as we walked through one of the millet fields one warm morning, before it got too hot. We are protecting ourselves from the sun with long shawls. I am, of course, sweating like crazy.

It was hot in Niger, very very hot. It was 115°-in-the-shade-hot (46.1°C). And it wasn't even "Hot Season," those months in the spring and fall when the temperature is regularly 120°-to-130°(48.8°-54°C).

At night it was too hot to sleep inside, so everybody slept outside, under mosquito nets. When I arose I could see the sweaty imprint of myself as it evaporated from the sheet. To cool off during the day we took large plastic mugs of water from a bucket, and poured them over ourselves, from head to toe, and it felt really good. I found that a 3-mug-bucket-bath was all I needed to feel better. That, and a good dose of baby powder to settle down the heat rash.


"The Niger climate, with tremendous heat and extreme aridity, is almost unbearable to the human settlements of the land. Popularly known as the "Frying Pan of the World", the Niger climate is so very hot that it even makes the raindrops evaporate prior to reaching the ground. " From http://www.mapsofworld.com/niger/climate.html