Long droughts have been implicated in the collapse of many ancient civilizations on virtually every continent, including our example in eastern Africa, the Mayan in Central America and many others.

So, if an extreme climate change does occur in the future it could create widespread devastation.

We have shown that there have been large fluctuations in water availability on a decadal to centennial time scale and that these changes occurred due to natural oscillations in climate.

Our concern is that human industrialization could be a trigger for extreme climate changes on a global scale in the future.

From a human point of view, the more we know, the better off we’ll be. In a region that is susceptible to droughts, wise water use and land management are a necessity.