Drylands Now Make up 40% of Land on Earth, Excluding Antarctica, Study Says

An area of land nearly a third larger than India has turned from humid conditions to dryland – arid areas where agriculture is difficult – in the past three decades, research has found.

Drylands now make up 40% of all land on Earth, excluding Antarctica. Three-quarters of the world’s land suffered drier conditions in the past 30 years, which is likely to be permanent, according to the study by the UN Science Policy Interface, a body of scientists convened by the United Nations.

Africa lost about 12% of its GDP owing to the increasing aridity between 1990 and 2015, the report found. Even worse losses are forecast: Africa will lose about 16% of its GDP, and Asia close to 7%, in the next half decade.

Ibrahim Thiaw, executive secretary of the UN convention to combat desertification (UNCCD), said: “Unlike droughts – temporary periods of low rainfall – aridity represents a permanent, unrelenting transformation.