Central Asia Is Turning into a Desert Due to Global Warming [Reading Science]

Introduction of Paper by Chinese Research Team in International Journal Nature
Deserts in Central Asia Have Expanded by Over 100km in the Last 30 Years

Desert. Stock photo. Not related to the article.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] As global warming intensifies extreme weather phenomena in various regions, a recent study has revealed that the desert areas in Central Asia have expanded by as much as 100 km over the past 30 years.

According to the international academic journal Nature on the 18th, a research team from Lanzhou University in China published a paper containing these findings last month on the 27th in the earth science specialized journal Geophysical Research Letters.

The study indicates that desert areas across Central Asia, including China, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, have experienced a steady rise in temperature over the past 35 years due to climate change. In particular, high mountain regions such as the Himalayas have become warmer and more humid, resulting in a significant reduction of the perennial snow that had accumulated on the uppermost layers.

By analyzing atmospheric temperature and precipitation data from 1960 to 2020 for the region, the research team found that since the late 1980s, the desert climate zone in Central Asia began expanding eastward. Notably, the desert area extended approximately 100 km into northern Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, northern Kazakhstan, and the Junggar Basin area in northern China.

In these regions, the average annual temperature between 1990 and 2020 rose by at least 5 degrees Celsius compared to the period from 1960 to 1979. Summers became drier, and rainfall concentrated mainly in winter, resulting in a typical desert climate. Consequently, flora and fauna adapted to hot and dry conditions became dominant. A member of the research team explained, “This has had a significant impact on animals that depended on the steppe climate of the grassland areas surrounding the deserts,” adding, “Prolonged droughts have reduced land productivity, turning the soil barren.”

High mountain areas such as China’s Tianshan Mountains are also severely affected by climate change. The research team reported that in the northern Tianshan Mountains of China, rising temperatures have led to increased precipitation in the form of rain rather than snow, causing an unprecedented decline in the perennial snow accumulated at the mountain peaks.

Professor Troy Sternberg of the University of Oxford in the UK told Nature, “Desertification is influenced not only by climate warming but also by agricultural and mining activities.” He emphasized, “Central Asian countries need to strive for sustainable agriculture and mining and pay close attention to how they will adapt to climate change in coordination with other nations.”