Why is this giant desert turning green? Scientists may finally know the answer.

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India ’s Thar Desert has become 38 % greener over the retiring 20 years , driven by a combination ofclimate changeand agricultural expansion , according to a unexampled study .

The past two decades have seen more people living in thisdesertand changing the landscape , make it more agricultural and urban , which is part of the reason why the desert has become dark-green , researchers say . The other while of the puzzle is climate change , which has have increasing monsoon precipitation in the area .

a woman with two children drawing water from a well in the desert

A woman and her two children draw water from a well in the Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert.

The Thar Desert , also promise the Great Indian Desert , cross 77,000 square miles ( 200,000 square km ) in northwestern India and southeastern Pakistan . Although many comeuppance throughout the world arefacing worsening drought , the Thar Desert has become a hub of urban and agrarian growth , make it the most populated desert in the worldly concern with more than 16 million residents .

" Increased urine and DOE availability have direct to expansion in agricultural and urban sphere with a considerable increase in craw yields in the region , " study co - authorVimal Mishra , a civil railroad engineer at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar , recite Live Science in an email . " There is no other desert in the Earth that has experience increases in urbanization , agriculture , and precipitation during the late period , "

The Modern study , put out April 3 in the journalCell Reports Sustainability , analyzed satellite datum from 2001 to 2023 . Mishra and his team notice that the desert became , on ordinary , 38 % greener during this time , with more flora visible in satellite ikon .

a photo of an eye looking through a keyhole

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To realize why exactly greening is happening , the researchers also looked at historic record of universe expansion in the Thar Desert , irrigation substructure , and climate example .

The findings show the Thar Desert ’s rejuvenation has been driven primarily by more rainfall during summer monsoon time of year — a 64 % ascension in haste overall — and second by irrigation base bringing groundwater to the surface outside of the monsoon time of year .

a tiger looks through a large animal�s ribcage

The authors suggest that sustainable direction of H2O resources in the Thar Desert can help this field accommodate and extend to sustain its growing population . However , warm temperature may threaten the 16 millionpeople who live in this desert , and overuse of groundwater for irrigation can eat up resources , the researchers note .

Sustainable pee management practices , drought - tolerant crops , adaptation to get up heat and renewable energy must all be part of succeeding development in the Thar Desert , the researchers said .

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The increase monsoon rainfall could also mean more implosion therapy , asclimate model projectthis increase rainfall will happen in outburst in extreme atmospheric condition upshot , which can damage homes and buildings in the desert .

An artist�s illustration of a satellite crashing back to Earth.

However , if managed and adapted to , the increase pelting could also activate the great unwashed and agriculture to flourish in the region . research worker behind a separate study project that even more of the landscape will become greenby the conclusion of the twenty-first century .

This change would encourage food security in the area but could threaten the aboriginal biodiversity of desert - adapted specialist mintage and traditional method of nomadic farming . The scientist monish that the need to preserve these aspect of the desert surround must be taken into consideration as development keep .