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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/09/drylands-now-make-up-40-of-land-on-earth-excluding-antarctica-study-says>
"An area of land nearly a third larger than India has turned from humid
conditions to dryland – arid areas where agriculture is difficult – in the past
three decades, research has found.
Drylands now make up 40% of all land on Earth, excluding Antarctica.
Three-quarters of the world’s land suffered drier conditions in the past 30
years, which is likely to be permanent, according to the study by the UN
Science Policy Interface, a body of scientists convened by the United Nations.
Africa lost about 12% of its GDP owing to the increasing aridity between 1990
and 2015, the report found. Even worse losses are forecast: Africa will lose
about 16% of its GDP, and Asia close to 7%, in the next half decade.
Ibrahim Thiaw, executive secretary of the UN convention to combat
desertification (UNCCD), said: “Unlike droughts – temporary periods of low
rainfall – aridity represents a permanent, unrelenting transformation.
“Droughts end. When an area’s climate becomes drier, however, the ability to
return to previous conditions is lost. The drier climates now affecting vast
lands across the globe will not return to how they were, and this change is
redefining life on Earth.”
Some crops will be particularly at risk: maize yields are projected to halve in
Kenya by 2050, if current trends continue. Drylands are areas where 90% of the
rainfall is lost to evaporation, leaving only 10% for vegetation. Two-thirds of
land globally will store less water by mid-century, according to the report
published on Monday."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
