When you picture a desert you probably think of sand dunes and animals at a watering hole in Africa. Or maybe you think of the rich colours and the peaks of the Mojave Desert.

Either way, you’re thinking heat, you’re thinking sand, you’re thinking of a dry and inhospitable landscape.

But a new report from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has pointed out that our world is rapidly undergoing processes of desertification, to such an extent that ‘desert’ no longer just means these far-flung iconic places.

In fact, the report estimates that over 75% of the land on our Earth has become drier in the last few decades. And this isn’t a temporary state: in fact, the report notes that 77.6% of land has become increasingly drier over the last thirty years, with 4.3 square kilometers of Earth now known as ‘drylands’, meaning that they cover over 40% of our planet’s total land area.

Known as ‘desertification’, this is the result of a geographical process that causes once-fertile land to become desert. Arid lands that are close to deserts, over time become less hospitable and ultimately become desert themselves. And this is not a process that is easy to reverse, as Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary noted in a statement:

“Unlike droughts—temporary periods of low rainfall—aridity represents a permanent, unrelenting transformation. Droughts end. When an area’s climate becomes drier, however, the ability to return to previous conditions is lost. The drier climates now affecting vast lands across the globe will not return to how they were and this change is redefining life on Earth.”

There are several reasons for desertification. The first of these is climate change. As our world gets warmer, as a result of – among many things – the gases that human behavior releases into the environment, the land dries out more.

The second reason is linked: as human populations increase, more housing needs to be built and more food needs to be grown. This puts more demand on the Earth and its water supplies, leading to warmer areas at risk of drying out.

Along the same lines is the third cause of desertification: the overgrazing of livestock. The sheer amount of meat that is consumed every day worldwide means that lots of animals need to be raised for slaughter (or for other products, like wool, eggs, and milk). They graze on the land, which leaves it exposed and more prone to drying out in the sun.

And this is not just a problem in rural areas. In fact, cities across the world – including Timbuktu, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Sicily, and parts of Bulgaria, Romania, and Portugal are all at risk of desertification, putting the homes, health, and livelihoods of their citizens at risk.

Despite the groundbreaking nature of this report, desertification – or the human role in it – should not be news to policymakers, but should act as a desperate call to action, as Barron Orr, Chief Scientist at the UNCCD explained in the statement:

“For decades, the world’s scientists have signalled that our growing greenhouse gas emissions are behind global warming. Now, for the first time, a UN scientific body is warning that burning fossil fuels is causing permanent drying across much of the world, too—with potentially catastrophic impacts affecting access to water that could push people and nature even closer to disastrous tipping points. As large tracts of the world’s land become more arid, the consequences of inaction grow increasingly dire and adaptation is no longer optional—it is imperative.”

Why is desertification so dangerous? And why is it so important that we act right away?

Well, because of the huge ramifications of the changes to the Earth. As Andrea Toreti – the study’s co-lead author and senior scientist at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre – notes in the statement, increasing aridity (dryness) of the land could change almost everything about life for many people across the world:

“The timeliness of this report cannot be overstated. Rising aridity will reshape the global landscape, challenging traditional ways of life and forcing societies to reimagine their relationship with land and water. As with climate change and biodiversity loss, addressing aridity requires coordinated international action and an unwavering commitment to sustainable development.”

Firstly, the changes to the environment can harm ecosystems as well as causing the earth – vital for growing food – to become completely barren. This has huge economic costs – both on a personal level for the farmers, as well as on a national level as countries see the products that they grow depleting.

This depletion is the first stage in a chain reaction that next leads to food scarcity. As food can’t be grown on the land, it has to be imported, making it more expensive – some staples become unaffordable for many. They are not just competing on a local level with their neighbors for food; rather, the huge demand for a lessening number of food products will be spread across countries or even continents.

This leads to increased poverty, and maybe even conflict between groups and countries as the distribution of food becomes uneven and contentious. Add to this growing migration, as people flee en masse to more hospitable areas, and unprecedented pressure will be put on borders and governments to house these climate refugees, causing personal distress and international discontent.

But perhaps the most noticeable effect of desertification on a personal level might be to your health. The two biggest factors – a scarcity of water and an increased number of dust storms – can create or worsen a whole load of health conditions. People might become dehydrated and malnourished as a result of a lack of access to food and clean water, whilst the dust can exacerbate lung, heart, and skin conditions too.

With the UNCCD research warning that humans must cut greenhouse gas emissions and take action on climate change immediately, otherwise another 3% of the world will become desertified by the end of the century, it is clear that drastic change is required.

And the report, which spans over 150 pages, gives very clear recommendations for how to tackle the Earth’s growing aridity. Among other things, the UNCCD recommend making changes to the way that we use our land, implementing sustainable policies and restoring ecosystems before they are gone for good.

Using purpose-built technology to monitor increasing aridity, whilst also increasing water efficiency and recycling are among the technological approaches that are put forward, whilst governments are urged to collaborate and cooperate on policies around water and land solutions, as well as in the social and economic support of their people.

In the statement, Nichole Barger, Chair of the UNCCD’s Science-Policy Interface, underlined just how severe the consequences could be if countries fail to take decisive action – whilst also cooperating on a global scale:

“Without concerted efforts, billions face a future marked by hunger, displacement, and economic decline. Yet, by embracing innovative solutions and fostering global solidarity, humanity can rise to meet this challenge. The question is not whether we have the tools to respond—it is whether we have the will to act.”

So what now, for our planet and all of its plants, animals – and people?

Well, we need to do all we can to limit our individual carbon emissions.

But it is up to the governments, and big business, to take the real action to cut their detrimental effects on our planet.

We need to hope that for once, policymakers and businesspeople will listen and stand up for our planet.

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