The Sahara Might Swallow Europe, Scientists Say

Bright Side

Scientists are saying that the Sahara Desert is expanding, and if it keeps going, it could eventually gobble up parts of Europe. They're not talking about some giant sandstorm swallowing cities whole or anything dramatic like that. It's more about how the desert is slowly spreading southward, eating up fertile land and making it harder for people to grow crops. It's a big deal because it could mess with the climate and make life a lot harder for millions of people who live nearby.   Credit:  Demi-lune: Botanischwili, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Demi-lune_(half-moone)_agriculture.jpg Animation is created by Bright Side.  #brightside   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Listen to Bright Side on:  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/idhttps-podcasts-apple-com-podcast-bright-side/id1554898078 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/brightside/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official/ Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en Snapchat - https://www.snapchat.com/p/c6a1e38a-bff1-4a40-9731-2c8234ccb19f/1866144599336960  Stock materials (photos, footages and other):  https://www.depositphotos.com  https://www.shutterstock.com  https://www.eastnews.ru  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me

Transcript

00:00 So, the Sahara Desert is so big that it covers 8% of the world's territory.

00:07 It's bigger than the USA or China.

00:09 Surprisingly, the Sahara is not the largest desert in the world.

00:13 It is the third largest, behind Antarctica and the Arctic, but it is definitely the hottest

00:19 one.

00:20 Temperatures there reach 136 degrees Fahrenheit.

00:23 This place has some of the most incredible sand dunes you've ever seen, towering up

00:27 to 1,476 feet.

00:30 But here's the kicker – there's a real risk that these dunes might continue to spread

00:35 until they cover the entire world.

00:39 Surprisingly, the influence of the Sahara Desert extends far beyond its borders.

00:45 Its dust, carried by powerful winds, makes its way to the UK and across the European

00:51 continent, particularly in winter.

00:53 This dust, settling on the ground where it rains, is a familiar sight to those in the

00:58 UK, often leaving a red residue on cars.

01:02 This connection between the Sahara, England, and Europe serves as a stark reminder of the

01:07 global reach of environmental phenomena.

01:10 You might think this is not a big deal, but it could turn Europe into a desert, leaving

01:15 its soil infertile and Europeans with no food.

01:19 Soil is a fundamental aspect of human existence, just as crucial as clean water and air.

01:26 Without it, we're left with nothing but a bleak and barren landscape.

01:32 The Sahara Desert has already made its jump across the Mediterranean Sea, which is concerning

01:37 and could change the landscape forever.

01:40 One-fifth of Spain has already turned into a desert.

01:44 The next victim is Italy, which also faces the problem of desertification.

01:49 In fact, almost all European countries have the same issue.

01:53 According to an expert, the land that has not changed for nearly 2,000 years will become

01:58 mostly rock, and people living on this land will be gone.

02:03 60% of the soil in Moldova is gone, and the problem has expanded beyond the Black Sea.

02:09 It has reached China and Mongolia, thousands of miles away from the Sahara Desert.

02:14 All of this causes losses of $4 billion a year.

02:18 The threat is so significant that even the UN has gathered the necessary resources to

02:24 solve the problem as soon as possible.

02:27 Italy is sending help to Africa to stop the Sahara Desert from expanding.

02:32 If this process does not stop in the next 10 years, millions will be forced to leave

02:36 their homes.

02:38 The Sahara Desert is growing for approximately 30 miles per decade.

02:42 You do the math and see how long it will take to cover Europe.

02:46 Since 1920, the Sahara has expanded by around 10%.

02:51 But not all hope is lost because more than 172 countries have joined to put a stop to

02:57 the desertification of the world.

03:01 The World Food Program is a project that aims to help bring back green land that was once

03:07 present in the Sahara.

03:09 When they told people who called the Sahara home what they were about to do, the latter

03:13 basically laughed in their faces and said it was impossible.

03:17 But when you have a specific goal in mind, the impossible becomes possible.

03:22 If we traveled back around 5,000 years into the past, we would see a beautiful forest

03:27 with lush green trees and grass.

03:30 Africa's climate has been changing for 21,000 years, from fantastic greenery to uninhabitable

03:37 deserts.

03:38 This has to do with Earth's rotation and the monsoons that bring water to this dry

03:42 continent.

03:43 But with the help of scientists and some clever tricks, we can bring the greenery back and

03:48 stop the Sahara in its tracks.

03:53 The Senegal River serves as a border between the Sahara Desert, Senegal City, and Mauritania.

04:00 When you look at this area from space, you'll see how the desert is expanding to Senegal

04:05 because the vegetation along the river bank is almost non-existent.

04:10 Forests can serve as a barrier, stopping the sand from getting blown away and the desert

04:14 from expanding.

04:16 An effort to create a great green wall is being made, and how they do it is actually

04:21 quite impressive.

04:22 Nothing has been growing in the currently restored area for more than 40 years, making

04:26 locals find other places to call home.

04:30 People were thrilled when they saw that the land could be restored.

04:33 They're very committed and learn to work with the soil and grow food.

04:39 At the same moment, more than 30,000 hectares have been restored and transformed into lush

04:45 greenery.

04:46 The Sahel region is the starting point of desertification, and it is crucial to establish

04:51 a green wall in that area first.

04:54 To make this wall is not rocket science, since it only takes a few simple steps.

04:59 The ground there is baked by the sun and is hard as a block of concrete.

05:03 If you've ever poured water on concrete, you know that it just flows away, it doesn't

05:08 stay in one place.

05:09 So they had to create water-retaining half-moons that would hold the water and make it available

05:15 to plants.

05:18 When you learn about how these half-moons work, you might say, "How did they not think

05:23 of that sooner?"

05:24 Actually, this technique is ancient, and it was once implemented in Sahel, but it was

05:29 lost over time.

05:31 When the rain falls, the water is collected into the half-moons that are positioned a

05:36 bit lower than the ground below contour lines.

05:39 There is also a kind of bank at the end of the shape that prevents water from overflowing.

05:45 And in the middle, there are plants that are happy because they have plenty of water to

05:49 thrive.

05:50 Also, it's essential to grow native plants that are kind of used to harsh conditions,

05:55 like sorghum and millet.

05:57 These plants have been surviving there for thousands of years and produce a good amount

06:01 of biomass, which means the land can be rehabilitated faster and people will have food sooner.

06:10 The water that will enter the half-moons won't be lost.

06:14 It will penetrate the ground and top off underground waters.

06:17 This will ensure the ground that H2O will never run out and that future generations

06:22 will have usable aqua.

06:24 This brilliant planting technique is not limited to half-moons.

06:28 People also create lines and plant various vegetables, such as tomatoes.

06:33 Next, there are places only for trees, like lemons or oranges.

06:38 After a long hot day, nothing is better than a freshly made cold lemonade.

06:43 The trees will also protect the soil, and with some luck, there will be a new forest

06:48 in the Sahara Desert.

06:50 The goal is to copy the forest dynamic.

06:53 Start with small plants and gradually expand to bigger plants that are more useful than

06:57 the tiny ones.

06:59 They are aiming to plant more than 10,000 trees.

07:05 Right now, many people are leaving the Sahara after the rainy season, going to cities or

07:10 leaving Africa altogether.

07:12 At this time of year, villages are like ghost towns.

07:15 Only animals can be found there.

07:17 Most people are gone.

07:18 I mean, who would blame them?

07:20 Nobody wants to live in the sand where nothing grows.

07:23 Luckily, with all this new, old technology being developed, many people are slowly but

07:29 surely returning to their land and starting to work in agriculture.

07:33 The best thing is that there are no brutal winters, so plants grow 12 months a year,

07:38 and people can always have food.

07:41 People are becoming more social because now, everybody stays in their villages and doesn't

07:45 travel much.

07:47 If this project works out, Africa will be saved, and the world won't turn into a giant

07:52 desert.

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