Desertification threatens 40% of the earth's land surface. Every year we lose 12 million hectares due to desertification, causing millions of people to abandon their homes. Thanks to science, we now know how a desert is born and how the sand dunes move around. Can anything be done to reverse or delay this process?

I was a child during the 50's drought in Texas. I lived in a town called Lubbock in the panhandle of the state. There, farmers had essentially destroyed the entire ecosystem to grow cotton. Between cotton crops, they planted no groundcovers at all, so we had enormous sandstorms, like "haboobs" that lasted for days on end. It sometimes became so dark that the streetlight in our front yard came on in the middle of the day, only to disappear from view as the dust became more intense. I lived across the street from my school, but children were not allowed to leave school without an adult. We lived on the west edge of the town with nothing between us but the empty fields. Sand piled up as much as 5 feet tall in the yard, and ultimately we had to hire earth-moving companies to remove it. The dust stripped paint off of cars, and frosted their windshields and ruined the paint on houses. It made its way inside as well. I had to sleep with with wet towels over my face to keep the sand out of my eyes, mouth, and nostrils. It was one of the most unpleasant times of my whole life -- I shall never forget those towering walls of sand, and the misery they brought with them.

They are forgetting that these places used to have trees that people destroyed and burned to make charcoal for melting metals. They used the roots and all. Taking the trees is the first step in desertification. Once the trees are gone, it doesn't take long. The Saharan deserts are way past that. No telling what is under that sand.

Sam Kinnison spoke about this decades ago.. Ÿou live in a desert. Nothing grows here! MOVE!"

I believe desertification and draught will be the cause of future conflicts as resources become more scarce.

I am in eastern Croatia, few times a year (every year more often) winds bring fine particals from Sahara desert. I felt,that during theese days,is not hot as on clear day. Now i know why..

Nowt new here. I have seen such storms many times in the ME over the past fifty years.

See the greenbelt in the Sahara desert. See the work of Andrew Millison on recovering and greening deserts in different parts of the world, it is fascinating and it is bringing hope. Greening deserts can be done. It just takes awareness and a return to how nature works. This is a French documentary, and French people tend to be pessimistic in their approach of life...

this video is really insightful and highlights an issue that doesn't get enough attention. however, I wonder if the focus on desertification somewhat overlooks other pressing environmental issues, like plastic pollution. it's like we can only care about one crisis at a time, but they're all interconnected, right?

Sahara has shown a greener image over the last 15 years. Increasing temperatures lead to a stronger evaporation over the sea; said condensations rain down onto dry land. Especially in summer, heavier rainfalls occur in the central Sahara. As reported, there are also torrents, which have supposedly put the dry valleys four meters under water. This is a blessing for the desert as the vegetation recovers. Gobi desert: By all accounts China’s 40-year-long forestation effort has been successful. In fact, the Gobi desert has now been steadily shrinking by as much as 2000 km² per year since 2015.

MAD MAX

@1:46 I just learned Southwest now services the Middle East

So this is what happens when you destroy a finally balanced machine

Humans are mor and more becoming the creators of our planet, earth .....

The World: naturally changes Humans: you are not changing as we like

Thank you for this free documentary! Is the narrator's voice AI? He sounds way different, sorta sped-up and generally unfamiliar. Just asking.

It's a tragedy how poorly the media failed in articulating the non-crisis called Three Mile Island.

I am in Eastern Washington, USA and we are two inches shy of desert. I feel it going desert.

Over grazing destroys soil structure which then blows away in the wind.

Tienen que movilizarse hacia los centros poblados y las grandes ciudades en África para poder canalizar los recursos de manera más eficiente.