The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Report on rising aridity trends globally and associated biological and agricultural implications

Aridity is an average long-term condition characterised by low precipitation and high atmospheric evaporative demand. Aridity significantly affects land degradation, desertification and the overall resilience of ecosystems—as a result, understanding aridity and its consequences for ecosystems and societies is critical in today's changing climate. Assessing aridity trends and future projections can help support the development of effective adaptation and mitigation strategies.

The Science Policy Interface (SPI) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) launched at the UNCCD COP16 (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) a key report titled “The Global Threat of Drying Lands: Regional and global aridity trends and future projections” (Vicente-Serrano et al. 2024). Based on new analyses and an up-to-date literature review, this report represents the first comprehensive global assessment of aridity that includes (i) a thorough assessment of current and future trends and (ii) the multifaceted and often cascading impacts of aridity. The report considers effective and sustainable adaptation practices, together with recommendations for comprehensive monitoring and reporting frameworks, integrated sectoral plans, capacity-building programs and policy incentives linked to performance indicators.