The century of drought

[RedEarth]

One third of the planet will be desert by the year 2100, say climate experts in the most dire warning yet of the effects of global warming


Drought threatening the lives of millions will spread across half the land surface of the Earth in the coming century because of global warming, according to new predictions from Britain's leading climate scientists.

Extreme drought, in which agriculture is in effect impossible, will affect about a third of the planet, according to the study from the Met Office's Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research.

It is one of the most dire forecasts so far of the potential effects of rising temperatures around the world - yet it may be an underestimation, the scientists involved said yesterday.

The findings, released at the Climate Clinic at the Conservative Party conference in Bournemouth, drew astonished and dismayed reactions from aid agencies and development specialists, who fear that the poor of developing countries will be worst hit.

"This is genuinely terrifying," said Andrew Pendleton of Christian Aid. "It is a death sentence for many millions of people. It will mean migration off the land at levels we have not seen before, and at levels poor countries cannot cope with."

One of Britain's leading experts on the effects of climate change on the developing countries, Andrew Simms from the New Economics Foundation, said: "There's almost no aspect of life in the developing countries that these predictions don't undermine - the ability to grow food, the ability to have a safe sanitation system, the availability of water. For hundreds of millions of people for whom getting through the day is already a struggle, this is going to push them over the precipice."

http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=61527

[GliderGuider]

1. And everybody acts surprised.

This has been staring us in the face, visible to anyone who cared to open their eyes and look, for the last 3 years. But no, those of us who tried to talk about changes of this magnitude were derided as apocalyptophiles, doomers, Chicken Littles.

Fuck.

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. FWIW - The Story is a year and a half old

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/the-century-of-drought-418623.html

The century of drought

One third of the planet will be desert by the year 2100, say climate experts in the most dire warning yet of the effects of global warming

By Michael McCarthy, Environmental Editor
Wednesday, 4 October 2006

Drought threatening the lives of millions will spread across half the land surface of the Earth in the coming century because of global warming, according to new predictions from Britain's leading climate scientists.

Extreme drought, in which agriculture is in effect impossible, will affect about a third of the planet, according to the study from the Met Office's Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research.

...

[GliderGuider]

4. Yeah, I realized that after I posted my reply. It still sucks a year and a half later though. n/t

[RaleighNCDUer]

2. And this at a time when the aquifers have been drained to record

lows - no more drilling deeper wells. It's just not there anymore.

One day (I hope) people will look at films from this era showing the way we used our water resources and be appalled. Building cities in the desert - now THERE'S a great idea.