Abstract
Dryland expansion causes widespread water scarcity and biodiversity loss. Although the drying influence of global warming is well established, the role of existing drylands in their own expansion is relatively unknown. In this work, by tracking the air flowing over drylands, we show that the warming and drying of that air contributes to dryland expansion in the downwind direction. As they dry, drylands contribute less moisture and more heat to downwind humid regions, reducing precipitation and increasing atmospheric water demand, which ultimately causes their aridification. In ~40% of the land area that recently transitioned from a humid region into a dryland, self-expansion accounted for >50% of the observed aridification. Our results corroborate the urgent need for climate change mitigation measures in drylands to decelerate their own expansion.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 967–972 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Science |
Volume | 385 |
Issue number | 6712 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 30 Aug 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2024 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science.