Entire villages may disappear under a layer of sand because of climate change

Photo by: guenterguni / iStock

Climate change has the potential to change wind patterns so much by the end of this century that sand-covered areas could become a threat to infrastructure, agriculture and people’s homes. This is according to a study by British scientists from King’s College London, Phys.org reported.

The invasion of ‘wandering’ sand dunes will seriously affect transport and industry and in some cases could cause entire villages to disappear from the face of the earth.

Dunes and sand seas cover about 20% of the world’s arid zones. By analysing data on the shape, speed and direction of migration of shifting dunes around the world, researchers have created a model of how future winds, whose direction changes with the climate, will affect desert landscapes.

Previous climate research has focused on temperatures and water to determine the environmental impact. But studies of air mass dynamics have allowed scientists to predict how regions such as the Sahara, the Horn of Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, South Asia, China and Australia will evolve in the coming decades.

The study shows that changing the nature and direction of the winds will accelerate the migration of sand dunes and change their direction. This will contribute to desertification in some regions and increase dust emissions worldwide.

For example, the recently completed Hotan-Zhojiang high-speed railway line in China includes 500 kilometres of track along the southern part of the Takla Makan desert. The project has already spent $295 million on sand control measures. But the changing climate and migration of sand dunes could make this investment a waste.

Rail projects in the Middle East and North Africa worth $53 billion will also be at risk of sand drift, along with local road networks.

A change in the direction of sand drift could lead to agricultural land and settlements also becoming under the sand column.

In other regions, dormant dune fields could be reactivated, increasing the risk of dust storms and increasing dust emissions globally.

“We have found that wind shifts can change the direction of the dunes and cause sand seas to expand, which can also increase dust emissions into the atmosphere.

All these changes have a huge impact on local economies, agriculture and housing. The threat of increased dust emissions will also affect the health of millions of people around the world,” said Dr Andreas Baas, one of the authors of the study.

Cover photo: guenterguni / iStock