The recent U.N. report reveals that over 75% of the planet's land has become drier due to human activities, intensifying risks related to wetland loss, agriculture disruptions, and water scarcity, with urgent discussions on prevention occurring in Saudi Arabia.
U.N. Report Warns of Increasing Aridity Crisis Affecting Global Lands
U.N. Report Warns of Increasing Aridity Crisis Affecting Global Lands
A new United Nations report highlights a troubling trend of drying land across three-quarters of Earth, linking it to human-induced climate change and emphasizing urgent action needed to combat desertification.
A goat farmer in a dry region of Leonforte, Sicily faces challenges exacerbated by climate change as a new United Nations report highlights that more than 75% of Earth's land has experienced significant drying in recent decades. This alarming trend has been identified as a "global, existential peril" primarily driven by industrial emissions and climate change.
Released during a United Nations summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, focused on combating desertification, the report reveals that nearly one in three individuals now resides in areas of diminished moisture, a sharp increase from one in five in 1990. Significant food-producing regions, including Argentina, Spain, and the Black Sea area, are among those most affected, raising concerns about future food security.
Narcisa Pricope, a land systems scientist and one of the report's contributors, stresses the immediacy of the aridity crisis, emphasizing its impacts on current and future generations. Countries facing heightened risks include regions already beset by socio-political instability, like South Sudan, indicating a correlation between climate change and escalating conflicts.
As nations convene to discuss proactive measures to prevent further desertification, the consensus remains that without significant interventions to curb temperature rises, the planet remains at risk of increased sandstorms, wildfires, crop failures, and the expansion of desert areas.
