dia and China is exacerbating the problem. Scientists
suggest that this will only get worse. According to a
2010 study sponsored by the National Center for At-
mospheric Research (NCAR), climate change will cre-
ate increasingly dry conditions (Figure 2) across much
of the globe in the next 30-years putting the world’s
food producing countries under immense stress (Dai
2010). Richard Seager, a noted climate change expert
added: “The term ‘global warming’ does not do justice
to the climatic changes the world will experience in
coming decades (NCAR 2010).”
Figure 2. Future Drought: These maps illustrate the potential for future
drought over the decades indicated, based on current projections of future
greenhouse gas emissions. The maps use a common measure, the Palmer
Drought Severity Index, which assigns positive numbers when conditions are
unusually wet for a particular region and negative numbers when conditions
are unusually dry. A reading of -4 or below is considered extreme drought.
Source: Dai 2010