The Brief

As Earth grows warmer, its ground is becoming drier and saltier, with profound consequences for the planet’s 8 billion inhabitants — nearly a third of whom already live in places where water is increasingly scarce and the ability to raise crops and livestock is increasingly difficult.

Climate change is accelerating this trend. New research has found global warming has made 77% of the Earth’s land drier over the past three decades while rapidly increasing the proportion of excessively salty soils.

Drylands, or arid areas where water is hard to come by, now make up more than 40% of the planet (excluding Antarctica), a likely permanent consequence of climate change, according to a landmark report by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, or UNCCD. Another new analysis, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, or FAO, found that roughly 10% of the world’s soils are affected by excess salt, with another 2.5 billion acres at risk.

These interwoven trends threaten agricultural productivity, biodiversity, and ecosystem health while exacerbating food and water insecurity. Together, the two reports sound an urgent alarm: Unless the world curbs emissions, these shifts will continue, with grave implications.

“Without concerted efforts, billions face a future marked by hunger, displacement, and economic decline,” said Nichole Barger, an aridlands ecologist who works with the UNCCD.

Climate change impact

Some 7.6% of the planet’s land was remade by climate change between 1990 and 2020, with most of the impacted areas shifting from humid landscapes to drylands — defined as an area where 90% of rainfall evaporates before reaching the ground. Together, they cover a geographic expanse larger than Canada, researchers found, and in 2020 were home to about 30% of the world’s population. That’s a jump of more than 7% in recent decades. Unless the world sharply limits emissions, that proportion could more than double by the end of the century. By that point, more than two-thirds of land worldwide, with the exception of Greenland and Antarctica, is expected to store less water.

These changes are not limited to regions already considered dry, or expected to experience desertification. When modeling global high-emissions scenarios, the researchers found similar changes could occur in the Midwest, central Mexico, and the Mediterranean, to name three examples. The researchers have no expectation that this trend will reverse.

What Hannah Waterhouse, a soil and water scientist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, finds “important, and unnerving to emphasize” is that this expansion occurred under conditions that aren’t nearly as hot as what’s to come. That suggests the problem will only escalate and, as food and water grow more scarce, usher in issues like widespread conflict, she said.

“We can look to current geopolitical and ecological events that are playing out currently to understand what we can expect in the future,” Waterhouse said. “Think of what is occurring in Sudan right now, where climate change is exacerbating resource scarcity, which is interacting in governance and geopolitics in violent outcomes for civilians.”

Aridity vs. drought

Aridity is not to be confused with drought. Drought is best described as a sudden and startling, but temporary, water shortage often caused by low precipitation, high temperatures, little humidity, and unusual wind patterns. Arid regions, on the other hand, experience persistent, long-term climatic conditions in which evaporation exceeds rainfall, creating conditions in which it can be difficult to sustain life. It is much more subtle than a drought, but no less significant.

“Droughts end,” Ibrahim Thiaw, executive secretary of the UNCCD, said in a statement. “When an area’s climate becomes drier, however, the ability to return to previous conditions is lost. The drier climates now affecting vast lands across the globe will not return to how they were, and this change is redefining life on Earth.”

This photo shows an aerial view of a dry rice field affected by drought at Hudianxiang village in Xinyang, in central China's Henan province on June 18, 2024

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Expanding drylands are widely considered the biggest contributor to the degradation of Earth’s agricultural systems and difficulty producing enough food. Such conditions also have been linked to loss of gross domestic product, large-scale migration, and adverse health impacts and rising mortality. They intensify wildfires, sand storms, and dust storms while degrading ecosystems. They also promote erosion and the salinization of water and soil.

Climate change is already hampering food production, leaving one in 11 people worldwide hungry last year, and the research suggests the problem will intensify, particularly in much of Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. Under the business-as-usual emissions scenario, sub-Saharan Africa could lose as much as 22% of its current crop production capacity by 2050. The production of staple food crops grown in regions highly susceptible to aridity, such as soybeans, wheat, and rice, could plummet worldwide as well.

Saltier soils

Rapid expansion of the world’s drylands is “100% interconnected” with the coinciding surge in saltier soils, said Maria Konyushkova, a soil scientist at the Food and Agriculture Organization and lead author of the report the U.N. agency released Dec. 11. The more arid an area is, the less freshwater is available. That requires farmers to rely upon brackish water, increasing soil salinity.

While water-soluble salt is a component of all soils, too much of it impairs plants’ water absorption, effectively stealing moisture from them and suppressing their growth. High salinity also changes soil structure, making it more prone to erosion. All of this diminishes soil fertility, and could lead to yield losses as high as 70% for crops like rice and beans in the countries most impacted, the researchers found. Roughly 10% of the world’s irrigated cropland, and a similar proportion of its rain-fed cropland, already has been impacted by this dire trend.

As it stands, 10 countries, including China, Russia, and the United States, account for 70% of the planet’s salt-affected soils. This costs the global agriculture sector at least $27 billion every year. If the world continues to warm at its current rate, past research has estimated that more than 50% of the world’s cropland would be similarly impacted by 2050, exacerbating the declining yields that are already driving rising hunger rates.

A road leading to the Libyan village of Kabao in the Nafusa mountains, winds between arid hills on May 26, 2024. Once flourishing and known for its figs, olives, and almonds, fields around the village set some 200 kilometres southwest of Tripoli are now mostly barren and battered by drought.

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Where to go from here was the central topic of UNCCD COP16 earlier this month, as representatives of nearly 200 nations gathered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to discuss land degradation, desertification, and drought. “We depend on land for our survival,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said at the conference. “Yet we treat it like dirt.”

Nature-based solutions like agroecology are among the slate of locally-deployed mitigation and adaptation tactics the two reports suggest, alongside improved crop and water management, technological solutions, and the development of water-efficient and salt-resistant varieties of crops.

Restoration and resilience

Big-dollar investments are being touted as solutions, too. Previous UNCCD reports found that halting the planet’s rate of land degradation, which they suggest could lose the global economy $23 trillion by 2050, would cost roughly $4.6 trillion. The agency told negotiators at the summit that at least $2.6 trillion for restoration and resilience purposes is needed by 2030.

By the time the summit concluded, just over $12 billion had been pledged to tackle the issue across 80 vulnerable countries, while negotiators departed having failed to agree on a legally binding protocol for action.

Waterhouse has doubts about some proposals highlighted in the research she considers “top-down technocratic solutions.” The Great Green Wall, a multibillion-dollar initiative to plant trees to combat desertification in the Sahel region of Africa, is one example. The effort, launched in 2007, has drawn criticism for exacerbating water scarcity and biodiversity loss.

Konyushkova considers the two reports an urgent call for governments worldwide to prioritize investing in resilience efforts to manage what is clearly becoming a crisis. “All the trends show that the freshwater resources will be depleting … but we have so many approaches to adapt,” she said. “We just need to start doing it right now, because it’s already here. Even if governments don’t always understand, it’s already here, and deteriorating.”

Some government funding streams for L.A. County’s public health system are drying up, and officials are turning to private philanthropy to fill the gap.

A new privately funded foundation launched Thursday to strengthen public health services after $50 million in federal, state and local funding cuts to the county’s Department of Public Health since early last year.

“It is really a hard day for our community when we have to ask for private donations to fund a public good, but unfortunately, we've lost too much money to not take this important step,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

In February, the county’s Public Health Department closed seven clinics, with six remaining open. About half of the patients seen in those clinics are uninsured, according to county officials. The department also cut hundreds of staff positions.

Ferrer is on the board of the new foundation, The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA, which held its first meeting Thursday.

She said the fund will help the county maintain its basic public health infrastructure, including disease prevention, health promotion, environmental health, and emergency response efforts.

Other board members include several health insurance executives, as well as actors Sean Penn and Danny Trejo. Board member Saree Kayne of the R&S Kayne Foundation pledged $150,000 to the fund Thursday. Kayne said she hopes the donation encourages others to give.

The foundation aims to raise $2 million this year.

More cuts expected

L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said it’s crucial to have an alternative funding stream to protect services for the county's most vulnerable residents.

“We are saving public health,” Mitchell said. “This fund represents a new approach, one that brings together government philanthropy in the private sector to invest in community-based solutions, protect vulnerable populations, and strengthen our public health infrastructure.”

Officials say more public health cuts are coming, through the federal budget law known as the "Big Beautiful Bill," which slashes funding for Medi-Cal.

The county Department of Public Health anticipates losing up to $300 million in revenue over the next three years because of the federal budget bill and other potential funding freezes. Federal funding accounts for almost 50% of the public health budget, according to county officials.

Mitchell also led an effort to put a half-percent county sales tax increase to fund public health on the June ballot.

If approved by voters, that proposal, known as Measure ER, is expected to raise about $1 billion a year for county safety net health services, including about $100 million for the public health department.

Board members

The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA announced its founding board of directors, which includes:

• Dr. Barbara Ferrer, LA County Department of Public Health director
• Debbie I. Chang, Blue Shield of California Foundation CEO
• Sean Penn, actor and co-founder of Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE)
• Martha Santana-Chin, LA Care Health Plan CEO
• Saree Kayne, R&S Kayne Foundation CEO
• Danny Trejo, actor and restaurateur
• Jarrett Barrios, an executive at the American Red Cross
• Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, Charles R. Drew University College of Medicine Dean
• Kristin McCowan, an executive at the Los Angeles Dodgers

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena may be a centenarian, but it’s holding up pretty well as it continues to host events on its way to a starring role in the LA28 Olympics.

But before it can host the soccer final, it needs fixes, especially to the infrastructure serving the bathrooms and drinking fountains. Fears of a toilet backup while in the world’s spotlight led Rep. Laura Friedman to seek federal funds for upgrades. On Thursday she announced she secured just over $1 million.

“Two years from now, athletes around the world are going to compete for gold right where we are standing. This is not the time to find out whether or not these pipes are up to the task,” Friedman said.

The planned work, she added, will lead to improved water flow capacity and water drainage, eliminating the risk of backups and emergency maintenance.

The funds came from the House of Representatives Interior and Environment subcommittee. The fixes, an official said, will be completed by the LA28 Olympics.

The funds, however, are a drop in the bucket when it comes to what’s needed to make needed improvements to the Pasadena venue.

Officials, including (left to right) Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation President Dedan Brozino, Deputy Fire Chief of the City of Pasadena Tim Sell, Congresswoman Laura Friedman, and Rose Bowl Stadium CEO Jens Weiden announced infrastructure funding for the 103-year old Rose Bowl.

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“Over the  next 20 years there's about $200 million that we need to put in and that's everything from updating light fixtures to updating gas, water, wastewater lines, etc.,” said Dedan Brozino,  president of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, the nonprofit that supports the Rose Bowl stadium's preservation and enhancement.

Getting venues ready will be expensive

The money is a much-needed win at a time when elected officials in city, county, state and federal offices have been struggling to find the funds to get L.A.-area venues ready for the global Olympic stage in two years.

The entrance to a men's bathroom at the Rose Bowl.

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A $360 million proposal to spruce up asphalt in parking lots around Exposition Park won’t be done in time for the Olympics, as originally planned. Meanwhile, just up the street, there’s concern that a $2.6 billion expansion of the L.A. Convention Center, which is hosting Olympic wrestling, fencing and judo in 2028 won’t be ready for the Olympics.

Additionally, to save money, LA28 organizers moved Olympic diving to the Rose Bowl complex last year because it has two Olympic-sized pools, while the Exposition Park complex doesn't and would need expensive upgrades.

Topline:

About the chick: The chick hatched March 14. The zoo opened its Cape vulture enclosure in February 2025 after years of planning to encourage the birds to roost and nest, welcoming a new breeding pair that year. When it grows to be an adult, it’ll have a wingspan of 8 1/2 feet.

About the enclosure: The L.A. Zoo said it spent years developing the vulture habitat, which was designed to mimic the vultures’ natural environment in South Africa and nearby countries. Dominick Dorsa II, the zoo’s director of animal care, said in a statement the successful hatching is “a testament to the design and construction” of the habitat.

How to see the chick: You can’t for the time being. Zoo officials are keeping it away from visitors until the chick matures, though you can still see adult Cape vultures at the zoo’s enclosure.

Though visitors will have to wait until the chick matures to see it in the enclosure, you can still take in the impressive eight and a half foot wingspan of the adult Cape vultures.

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What zoo officials are saying: “Welcoming a Cape vulture chick is a thrilling moment for our team and a beacon of hope for African vultures,” the L.A. Zoo’s curator of birds Rose Legato said in a statement. “Vultures are one of nature's most misunderstood marvels, and I cannot wait for our guests to eventually watch this chick grow and learn just how vital they are to our ecosystems.”

About the species: Cape vultures are listed as a vulnerable species due to human activities and encroachment. According to the L.A. Zoo, African vultures are more closely related to eagles and hawks than vultures native to the Americas, like the zoo's California condors that hatched last year.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

What should have been a celebration for formerly incarcerated youth completing a reentry program at the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory (BHAC) last week instead ended with seven students and two staff members detained by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to witnesses. 

Now, nearly a week later, BHAC staff and city officials are demanding answers from the LAPD, with some accusing officers of racial profiling. 

According to the LAPD, officers observed a large group gathered on the corner of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Mott Street around 4:16 p.m. on March 26. Authorities then requested backup for what they described as “a large group surrounding officers,” LAPD Public Information Officer Tony Im said. 

The group, classified by police as an “aggressive gang group,” consisted of seven 18-year-old students from the BHAC’s Bridge Academy Movement (BAM) program and two BHAC staff members.

The BAM program pays formerly incarcerated youth to complete 200-250 hours in media and visual arts training to prepare them for creative careers. That day, students were set to showcase their work at the BAM program graduation for families and community members. 

Rene Weber, a teaching artist at the BHAC, had been with the students setting up for the ceremony minutes before the incident occurred. 

According to Weber, the students had gone to coffee across the street at Milpa Kitchen as they often did, when staff were alerted that they were being detained. 

Weber said he arrived to find students and a staff member pressed against the wall in handcuffs. 

Video from the scene, taken by a staff member at the BHAC, shows multiple officers surrounding the group. At one point, an officer orders a person to “get on the wall” and displays a stun gun.  

“No, none of that, these are kids right here,” the staff member replies.

Another staff member, Teotl Veliz, recorded a large police response.  

“I counted 12 cop cars, that’s at least 25 cops, and they had a helicopter,” Veliz said. “It was just so comedic, tragically comedic, that it was on their graduation day too.”

Officers established a perimeter with yellow tape along the side of Ashley’s Beauty Salon as local business owners and witnesses gathered around the students. 

“I was just incredibly disappointed in LAPD… because it became so apparent to everybody, all at the same time, that it was racial profiling and nothing else,” Veliz said.

Weber said officers gave shifting explanations for the stop at the scene, including blocking the sidewalk and possible underage vaping. After Weber told the officers that all of the students were 18, they said they would investigate whether the group had any gang affiliation. 

Police have not responded to questions about what led officers to believe that the group was gang-affiliated. 

Weber recalled pleading with the officers to let the group go and explaining to them that they worked across the street. Community members and local business owners also stepped in to vouch for the students. 

“Our job is to help them gain a new perspective on life,” Weber said. “They’re coming out of juvenile detention and they’re turning their lives around. We can do our part in keeping them off the streets and keeping them doing better but what does it mean if they’re going to be profiled and treated exactly the same way?” 

In total, seven 18-year-old students and two staff members were detained. BHAC staff said one student and one staff member were taken to Hollenbeck Community Police Station and released less than two hours later after advocacy from community members and Councilmember Ysabel Jurado.

The incident ultimately resulted in an infraction for smoking a cannabis e-vape on a public sidewalk, according to a photo of the infraction shared with the Beat. LAPD did not provide details about the people taken to Hollenbeck Station or the infraction. 

The graduation ceremony was cancelled that night and is expected to be rescheduled in April. 

“Graduation should be a moment of pride and possibility — not fear,” Jurado said in a statement. “I’m seeking answers about what occurred, and this underscores the need for stronger relationships between law enforcement and community organizations so moments like these are protected, not disrupted.”

Carmelita Ramirez‑Sanchez, the conservatory’s executive director, said she was grateful to the community and Jurado for advocating for the students’ release. Jurado met her at Hollenbeck Station within 20 minutes of being alerted to the incident, she said. 

“They had store owners, señoras, barbers, that ran out and were trying to explain to the police who our kids were,” Ramirez‑Sanchez said. 

Still, she said the incident tarnished what should have been a joyous celebration.

“I imagine that what this does is derail this entire idea that you can be an active participant in your own restorative growth,” she said.