Three-quarters of the world’s land is drying out, ‘redefining life on Earth’
As Earth grows warmer, its ground is becoming drier and saltier, with profound consequences for the planet’s 8 billion inhabitants — nearly a third of whom already live in places where water is increasingly scarce and the ability to raise crops and livestock is increasingly difficult.
Climate change is accelerating this trend. New research has found global warming has made 77 percent of the Earth’s land drier over the past three decades while rapidly increasing the proportion of excessively salty soils.
Drylands, or arid areas where water is hard to come by, now make up more than 40 percent of the planet (excluding Antarctica), a likely permanent consequence of climate change, according to a landmark report by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, or UNCCD. Another new analysis, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, or FAO, found that roughly 10 percent of the world’s soils are affected by excess salt, with another 2.5 billion acres at risk.
These interwoven trends threaten agricultural productivity, biodiversity, and ecosystem health while exacerbating food and water insecurity. Together, the two reports sound an urgent alarm: Unless the world curbs emissions, these shifts will continue, with grave implications.
