Desertification， drought， and despair－that＇s what global warming has in store for much of Africa. Or so we hear.
Emerging evidence is painting a very different scenario， one in which rising temperatures could benefit millions of Africans in the driest parts of the continent. Scientists are now seeing signals that the Sahara desert and surrounding regions are greening due to increasing rainfall. If sustained， these rains could revitaliｚe drought－ravaged regions， reclaiming them for farming communities. This desert－shrinking trend is supported by climate models， which predict a return to conditions that turned the Sahara into a lush savanna some 12，000 years ago.
The green shoots of recovery are showing up on satellite images of regions including the Sahel， a semi－desert ｚone bordering the Sahara to the south that stretches some 2，400 miles.
Images taken between 1982 and 2002 revealed extensive regreening throughout the Sahel， according to a new study in the journal Biogeosciences. The study suggests huge increases in vegetation in areas including central Chad and western Sudan. The transition may be occurring because hotter air has more capacity to hold moisture， which in turn creates more rain， said Martin Claussen of the Max Ｐlanck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg， Ｇermany， who was not involved in the new study. ＂The water－holding capacity of the air is the main driving force，＂ Claussen said.
While satellite images can＇t distinguish temporary plants like grasses that come and go with the rains， ground surveys suggest recent vegetation change is firmly rooted. In the eastern Sahara area of southwestern Egypt and northern Sudan， new trees—such as acacias—are flourishing， according to Stefan Ｋr?pelin， a climate scientist at the University of Cologne＇s Africa Ｒesearch Unit in Ｇermany.
＂Before， there was not a single scorpion， not a single blade of grass，＂ saidＫr?pelin， who has studied the region for two decades.＂Now you have people graｚing their camels in areas which may not have been used for hundreds or even thousands of years. Ｙou see birds， ostriches， gaｚelles coming back， even sorts of amphibians coming back，＂ he said.＂The trend has continued for more than 20 years. It is indisputable.＂
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