A new report from the United Nations reveals that human-induced climate change is permanently drying up land across the globe. The study by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification claims that more than 75% of Earth’s land is permanently drier than it was in 1970. It’s an alarming trend that has turned once-fertile land into deserts, with little to no hope of returning to their previous state. The report highlights human-caused climate change as the primary driver of this shift, with regions like Europe, the western United States, Brazil, and central Africa being particularly hard-hit by aridity. One UN official said the change “is redefining life on Earth.” “For the first time, the aridity crisis has been documented with scientific clarity, revealing an existential threat affecting billions around the globe,” Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary, said in a statement . “Unlike droughts — temporary periods of low rainfall — aridity represents a permanent, unrelenting transformation,” Thiaw added. “Droughts end. When an area’s climate becomes drier, however, the ability to return to previous conditions is lost. The drier climates now affecting vast lands across the globe will not return to how they were and this change is redefining life on Earth.” According to the study, some 77.6% of Earth’s land experienced drier conditions during the three decades leading up to 2020 compared to the previous 30-year period. Despite major floods and storms, the global landmass classified as drylands has increased to 40.6%, according to the report. In recent decades, some 7.6% of global lands –– an area larger than Canada — were pushed across aridity thresholds, from non-drylands to drylands or from less arid dryland classes to more arid classes. Most of these areas have transitioned from humid landscapes to drylands, with dire implications for agriculture, ecosystems, and the people […]