“Landmark UN Report Warns: Climate Change Making 75% of Earth’s Land Permanently Drier”

A new United Nations report has highlighted the alarming impact of climate change on the Earth’s land, revealing that 77.6% of the planet’s land has become drier in the last three decades. This significant increase in aridity has led to drylands expanding by an area larger than India, now covering 40.6% of the Earth’s land surface, excluding Antarctica.

The report, released by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), warns that if this trend continues, up to five billion people could be living in drylands by the end of the century. This would have devastating consequences, including soil depletion, dwindling water resources, and the collapse of vital ecosystems.

Ibrahim Thiaw, the executive secretary of the UNCCD, emphasized the severity of the situation, stating that the aridity crisis poses an existential threat to billions of people worldwide. As temperatures rise due to climate change, water evaporates more easily from the Earth’s surfaces, leading to increasingly arid conditions across the planet.

This transformation is permanently altering once lush forests into arid grasslands, depriving ecosystems and agriculture of essential moisture. The report also highlights the impact of destructive land use practices and mismanagement of water resources, putting nearly three billion people and over half of global food production under unprecedented stress.

Despite the growing concern among scientists, accurately documenting the extent of the planet’s drying has been challenging due to various factors. To address this issue, the authors of the report utilized advanced climate models, standardized methodologies, and an extensive review of existing literature and data to provide a clear picture of the growing drying trend.

The findings are concerning, with aridity now affecting 40% of the world’s agricultural land and 2.3 billion people, leading to intensified wildfires, agricultural collapse, and mass migrations. Regions particularly hard hit include Europe, the western United States, Brazil, eastern Asia, and central Africa.

However, the report also offers hope for the future, outlining a comprehensive roadmap for addressing the crisis. This includes reducing carbon emissions, improving monitoring of aridity, implementing sustainable land and water management practices, and fostering resilience and cooperation within and between communities globally.

Barron Orr, the chief scientist of the UNCCD, emphasized the importance of taking action to prevent a future marked by hunger, displacement, and economic decline. By embracing innovative solutions and global solidarity, humanity can rise to meet the challenge of climate-induced aridity. The key question now is whether we have the will to act before it’s too late.