How different parts of the world recover from drought • Earth.com

How different parts of the world recover from drought

08-14-2017


How different parts of the world recover from drought Last week, we told you about how recovering from drought is far more complicated than it simply starting to rain again. Today’s Video of the Day comes from the University of Utah and takes a closer look at how long different ecosystems take to bounce back. While some areas of the world can recover from drought in less than six months, other can take up to 2 years.

Wet conditions, such as those that slammed California after its long drought, hastened recovery. Dry conditions and temperature extremes, lengthened recovery. Location mattered as well. In general, most areas of the world are able to recover from a drought in less than six months.

Here are five of those droughts and how they are thought to have changed the world. 1. The drought that prompted the spread of humanity DNA research suggests a series of megadroughts between 135,000 and 75,000 years ago may have been responsible for the first migrations of early humans out of Africa.

By Rory Arnold, Earth.com

Source: Paul Gabrielsen/University of Utah

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