When green is a sign of warning

It is a peculiar and jarring sight: The Sahara, that unforgiving sea of sand, is boasting blue lagoons and carpet of green; the Thar is becoming wetter; and Antarctica, an ancient expanse of ice and rock, is sprouting moss and algae on its edges.

- KUMAR ABISHEK

It's not a mirage, but a reminder that the climate is changing in ways more complex than just rising temperatures. Precipitation patterns are shifting, turning deserts into sporadic green oases and upending fragile ecological balances. Should we celebrate this green renaissance, or does it serve as a warning of something more ominous?

According to a study, The Greening of the Sahara: Past Changes and Future Implications: "In recent decades, the Sahel region, south of the Sahara Desert, has experienced a significant wetting and re-greening after the dry decades of the 1970s and 1980s." It further said that in the future, the Sahara and Sahelian regions "could experience more rainfall than today as a result of climate change." Satellite images captured in September showed vegetation sprouting in pockets across the Sahara, triggered by an extratropical cyclone that drenched northwestern Africa.