Science Source
Colin P. Kelley, Shahrzad Mohtadi, Mark A. Cane, Richard Seager, Yochanan Kushnir
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published date January 30, 2015

Climate change in the Fertile Crescent and implications of the recent Syrian drought

  • States there is evidence that the 2007−2010 drought contributed to the conflict in Syria
  • States the drought was the worst drought in the instrumental record, causing widespread crop failure and a mass migration of farming families to urban centers
  • States that century-long observed trends in precipitation, temperature, and sea-level pressure, supported by climate model results, strongly suggest that anthropogenic forcing has increased the probability of severe and persistent droughts in this region, and made the occurrence of a 3-year drought as severe as that of 2007−2010 2 to 3 times more likely than by natural variability alone
  • Concludes that human influences on the climate system are implicated in the current Syrian conflict

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