Over 3/4th of Earth’s land became drier in last 30 years: UN

During the same period, global drylands expanded by approximately 4.3 million square kilometres—an area nearly a third larger than India—now covering more than 40 per cent of the Earth’s land

Over 77 per cent of Earth’s land experienced a drier climate during the three decades leading up to 2020, compared to the previous 30-year period, according to a report released by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on Monday. During the same period, global drylands expanded by approximately 4.3 million square kilometres—an area nearly a third larger than India—now covering more than 40 per cent of the Earth’s land.

The report, launched at the 16th conference of the UNCCD in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, warned that if efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions fail, another 3 per cent of the world’s humid areas are projected to transform into drylands by the end of this century.

Meanwhile, the number of people living in drylands has doubled to 2.3 billion over the past three decades. Models suggest that as many as 5 billion could inhabit drylands by 2100 in a worst-case climate change scenario. These billions of people face even greater threats to their lives and livelihoods from climate-related increases in aridification and desertification, the report said.

Areas particularly hard-hit by the drying trend include around 96 per cent of Europe, parts of the western US, Brazil, Asia, and central Africa. South Sudan and Tanzania have the largest percentage of land transitioning to drylands, with China experiencing the largest total area shifting from non-drylands to drylands, the report said.

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