Extreme drought, which makes modern agriculture virtually impossible, is seen by a new study from the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research as possibly affecting about one-third of the planet in the next century. These predictions may actually be an underestimation, said the climate scientists who released the results of the study.
Said Andrew Pendleton of Christian Aid, "this is genuinely terrifying … it is a death sentence for many millions of people. It will mean migration off the land at levels we have not seen before, and at levels poor countries cannot cope with."
The findings released by the Climate Clinic drew reactions from aid agencies around the world that fear developing countries will be the worst hit if the results of global warming continue to slowly erode the planet's capability for sustaining itself.
The clear indication from the study's results is that some parts of the world already stricken by drought -- like Africa -- may see the most severe effects.
Mark Lynas, author of High Tide, added to the discussion after the climate study's results, saying, "We're talking about 30 percent of the world's land surface becoming essentially uninhabitable in terms of agricultural production in the space of a few decades… these are parts of the world where hundreds of millions of people will no longer be able to feed themselves."