Scientists may have found a way to bring rainfall and greenery back to the ever-expanding Sahara Desert.
A massive wind and solar installation in the desert would raise local temperature, precipitation and vegetation and could bring benefits to the area, according to a report published last week by the University of Illinois.
Wind and solar farms simulated in the study, conducted at the Sahara Desert because of its scale, lack of inhabitation and sensitivity to land changes, would cover more than 9 million square kilometres, according to the researchers.
Researchers found that precipitation doubled with the installation of the farms, growing by as much as 0.25 millimetres per day on average.
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| Dromedaries in the Sahara desert, Mauritania. |
"The rainfall increase is a consequence of complex land-atmosphere interactions that occur because solar panels and wind turbines create rougher and darker land surfaces," said Eugenia Kalnay, a co-researcher of the study.
"This increase in precipitation, in turn, leads to an increase in vegetation cover, creating a positive feedback loop," added Yan Li, lead author of the study.
The wind and solar farms also created an average of three and 79 terawatts of clean energy respectively, said the scientists.
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| Nomad's tent in the Sahara desert, Mauritania. |
"The increase in rainfall and vegetation, combined with clean electricity as a result of solar and wind energy, could help agriculture, economic development and social well-being in the Sahara, Sahel, Middle East and other nearby regions," said co-researcher Safa Motesharei.
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| Sunset on the White desert, Sahara desert, Egypt. |
