Global Warming Could Increase Deserts 34% in Next Century

Posted by: Nate Berg
Thanks to: Curbed L.A.

20 August 2009 - 5:00am

A new report estimates that desertification will expand up to 34% during the next century, enveloping an area the size of the United States.

This new report from researchers at the University of Maryland, College Park, makes a harsher prediction than previous studies that estimate expansions at about 10%.

"Our best guess is that human-induced global warming is going to dry out much of the arid lands in Africa's Sahel region, areas around the Mediterranean Sea, the fringes of China's Gobi desert, parts of South America and southwestern North America.

Moderate estimates by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predict that deserts will expand 10 percent worldwide by the year 2100. But it could be much worse."

Full Story: Deserts Expand Faster as Earth Brightens

Source: Discovery, August 19, 2009