World’s biggest desert has expanded by more than 10% over last century

(Daily Mail), 29 March 2018   
Global warming is causing the Sahara desert to grow, new research suggests.   

Scientists have found that the world’s largest desert has expanded by more than ten per cent over the last 100 years.   

The study suggests the rest of the world’s deserts could be expanding too as widespread climate change continues to heat up the planet.   

‘Our results are specific to the Sahara, but they likely have implications for the world’s other deserts,’ said Sumant Nigam, a professor of atmospheric and oceanic science at the University of Maryland. 

 
The researchers analysed seasonal rainfall data throughout Africa from 1920 to 2013.  The team found that areas around the Sahara that were once non-desert regions could now be classified as deserts.