HOT AND DRY
Melting land ice in the Arctic is set to cause a global rise in sea levels, leading to disastrous
effects for both man and wildife. Many species worldwide are threatened with extinction, and
low-lying islands and land masses wil disappear entirely. But the havoc wreaked by the effect of
greenhouse gases won't be confined to just too much water, but the absence of it, as well. In
other words, desertfcation. A decrease in the total anount of rainfall in arid and semi-arid areas
could increase the total area of dry- lands worldwide, and thus the total amount of land
potentially at risk from desertification.
Desertification is officially recognised as land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid
areas resulting from various factors including climatic variations and human activities. This
degradation of formerly productive land is a complex process. It involves mutiple causes, and it
proceeds at varying rates in different climates. Desertification may intensity a general climatic
trend, or initiate a change in local climate, both leading towards greater aridity. The more arid
conditions associated with desertification accelerate the depletion of vegetation and soils. Land
degradation occurs all over the world, but it is only referred to as desertification when it takes
place in drylands. This is because these areas are especialy prone to more permanent damage
as different areas of degraded land spread and merge together to form desert-like conditions.
Global warming brought about by increasing greenhouse gas levels in the atrmosphere is
expected to increase the variability of weather conditions and extreme events. Many dryland
areas face increasingly low and erratic rainfalls, coupled with soil erosion by wind and the
drying-up of water resources through increased regional temperatures. Deforestation can also
reduce rainfall in certain areas, increasing the threat of desertification. It is not yet possible,
despite sophisticated technology. to identify with an acceptable degree of reliability those parts
of the Earth where desertification will occur. Existing drylands, which cover over 40% of the
total land area of the world, most significantly in Africa and Asia, will probably be most at risk
from climate change. These areas already experience low rainfall, and any that falls is usually in
the form of short, erratic, high-intensity storms. In addition, such areas also Suffer from land
degradation due to over-cultivation, overgrazing, kaforestation and poor irrigation practices.
It is a misconception that droughts cause desertification. Droughts are common in arid and
semi-arid lands. Well-managed lands can recover from drought when the rains return.
Continued land abuse during droughts, however, increases land degradation. Nor does
desertification occur in linear, easily definable patterns. Deserts advance erratically, forming
patches on their borders. Areas far from natural deserts can degrade quickly to barren soil,
rock, or sand through poor land management. The presence of a nearby desert has no direct
relationship to desertification. Unfortunately, an area undergoing desertification is brought to
public attention only after the process is well underway. Often little or no data are available to
indicate the previous state of the ecosystem or the rate of degradation. Scientists still question
whether desertification, as a process of global change, is permanent or how and when it can be
halted or reversed
[Link] you mind telling me about some basic consequences belonging to the phenomenon
melting land ice in the Arctic?
2. Almost people basically think that land regression mentions immediately to desertification.
Do you agree with their viewpoint?
3. What do arid conditions associate with? .Does it affects negatively to any components of
environment?
4. Can you tell me the name of some main existing drylands and problems they face to?
5. Do you reflect that greenhouse gases have just only impacted harmfully on climbing of sea
level on our earth? Why?
6. Do you sympathize for the angle that natural phenomenon, which are droughts, are
responsible for desertification? Expound your answer.
