This NY Times article discusses how, in a warming world, there is clear evidence of a human ‘Fingerprint’ on drought.
Human activity was changing the Earth’s drought and rainfall patterns as far back as the early 20th century, new research shows.
Drying in many regions, the researchers suggested, will get worse, with sobering implications for feeding the planet’s billions of people.
The new paper tracks long-term patterns of moisture levels in soil across regions of the world, including North America, Central America, Eurasia and the Mediterranean. The researchers found a “fingerprint” of human effects from producing greenhouse gases, as distinct from natural variability, as far back as 1900.
In the study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, the researchers combined computer models with archives of tree rings, which “give us a record of global drought going back centuries,” Dr. Marvel said.