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– likely to be permanent. Africa lost about 12% of its GDP due to increasing aridity between 1990 and 2015 and will lose about 16% of its GDP, with Asia close to 7%, in the next half decade. Globally two-thirds of land will store less water by mid-century.
www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/09/drylands-now-make-up-40-of-land-on-earth-excluding-antarctica-study-says