Desertification facts for kids

A ship left behind because of the retreat of the Aral Sea

Desertification is the expansion of desert into the surrounding areas. The desert area in the world is getting bigger. Desertification usually happens on the edge of deserts. A variety of factors causes it.

Causes

There are many causes of desert spreading:

• Climatic change (natural factor)
• Rapid population growth (human factor)
• Overgrazing
• Deforestation
• Drought
• Incorrect Irrigation

Interesting facts about desertification

• The United Nations predicts that within the next 10 years, 50 million people in the drylands will be displaced due to desertification.
• Approximately 2 billion people rely on and live in dryland area climates.
• Poor nutrition and a lack of clean water are one of the many issues of desertification.
• The Great Green Wall is the idea to plant a wall of trees at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert to battle desertification. As of 2023, about 15% of the project is completed.

Images for kids

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  U.S. Department of Agriculture map from 1998 showing global desertification vulnerability

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  Lake Chad in a 2001 satellite image, with the actual lake in blue. The lake lost more than 90% of its surface area between 1987 and 2005.

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  Sun, moon, and large telescopes above Chile's Atacama Desert

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  Sahel region of Mali

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  View of Sydney Harbour Bridge covered in dust

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  A shepherd guiding his sheep through the high desert outside Marrakech, Morocco

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  Anti-sand shields in north Sahara, Tunisia

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  Jojoba plantations, such as those shown, have played a role in combating edge effects of desertification in the Thar Desert, India.

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  Saxaul planted along roads in Xinjiang near Cherchen to slow desertification