This Inside Climate News article discusses a study that shows that Global Warming Was Already Fueling Droughts in Early 1900s. Scientists say the surprising findings provide the clearest signal yet of how greenhouse gas emissions have led to changing soil conditions around the world.
Global warming has been fueling droughts since the early 20th Century, when soils started drying out at the same time across parts of North and Central America, Eurasia, Australia and the Mediterranean, new research shows.
The researchers say the surprising early-century findings provide the clearest signal yet that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions have been changing the hydroclimate in ways that can devastate agriculture, health and livelihoods.
The findings, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, reinforce the importance of stopping greenhouse gas emissions in the next few decades, Cook said.