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Greening of African Sahara Could Have Shifted Northern Hemisphere Climate, New Study Reveals

19:21, 5 November 2024

Muhammad Nooh Osman

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The study highlights the interconnectedness of Earth's climate systems and suggests that the Sahara's ongoing greening, potentially influenced by climate change, could have significant implications for future weather patterns in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the authors.

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The Sahara Desert's "greening" thousands of years ago dramatically impacted Northern Hemisphere climate, a new study, using climate model simulations to reconstruct the impact.

During the middle Holocene, a period of increased vegetation growth in the Sahara, climate models show significant shifts in atmospheric circulation.

According to the study, during the middle Holocene, a period of increased vegetation growth in the Sahara, climate models show significant shifts in atmospheric circulation.

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The study, published in Climate of the Past, found that the Sahara's greening led to:

Warmer and drier conditions in Scandinavia and North America.

Colder winters and warmer summers in Western Europe.

Warmer conditions in Central Europe.

Colder and rainier conditions in the Mediterranean.

Warmer winters and colder summers with increased rainfall in Central Asia.

These changes were driven by a westward shift in the Walker Circulation, which influenced jet streams and the North Atlantic Oscillation. The increased vegetation also reduced dust emissions and albedo, further contributing to the altered climate patterns.