Much of earth drying up

Over 3/4 of world's land experienced drier conditions from 1970 to 2020: UN Report

Earth's lands are drying out and damaging the ability of plant and animal life to survive, according to a United Nations report released on Monday at talks where countries are working to address the problem.

The report was released at the UN summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on combating desertification – once-fertile lands turning into deserts because of hotter temperatures from human-caused climate change, lack of water and deforestation. It found that more than three-quarters of the world's land experienced drier conditions from 1970 to 2020 than the previous thirty-year period.

"The drier climates now affecting vast lands across the globe will not return to how they were," said Ibrahim Thiaw, chief of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. "This change is redefining life on Earth."