aridification

[uh-rid-uh-fi-key-shuhn]

noun

Ecology.

1. the long-term process by which a humid region becomes increasingly dry, chiefly as an effect of climate change and often in combination with human interference with the ecology.

Word History and Origins

Origin of aridification¹

First recorded in 1900–05; arid + -i- + -fication

Example Sentences

Famiglietti said it is set to worsen in many areas, leading to “widespread aridification and desertification.”

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The declines in water supplies have worsened as climate change has intensified drought conditions, driving what scientists describe as the aridification of the Southwest.

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“The degree of aridification and intensification of droughts in the region depends on the extent of anthropogenic warming,” the researchers wrote in the study, which was published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

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The latest study is thorough and adds to previous research documenting how human-caused warming is driving what scientists describe as hot drought and aridification in the West, said Brad Udall, a climate scientist at Colorado State University.

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Scientists and policy experts widely agree that adapting to aridification driven by climate change in the western U.S. will require major changes in how limited water supplies are managed for farms, cities and the environment.

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