A team of meteorologists from the US, China and Italy, led by Eugenia Kalnai, conducted experiments that simulated the climate of the Sahara Desert, which showed that the area could become fertile. Their study was published in the journal Science.
These measures will be enough to get agriculture back in the desert.
In their study, the scientists proposed covering the entire Sahara region (more than 9 million square kilometers) with wind and solar power plants.
Thanks to the implementation of this megaproject, it is possible to produce four times more energy than all the energy consumed by humanity today.
According to them, after placing energy facilities in the desert, rainfall will more than double, which will enhance the growth of trees, and thus the vegetation cover in the area will increase.
The scientific team notes that large-scale wind power plants will affect the movement of the wind, and also contribute to the mixing of air masses.
Solar panels will reflect the sun’s rays and thus cool the surface. In the opinion of the panel of experts, such measures would be enough to get agriculture back on track in the desert.