Topic > The Role of Drought in Syria's Conflict

For starters, according to the dictionary, a drought is a prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water. This study on climate change in the Fertile Crescent and the implications of the recent Syrian drought was conducted across a 6-month period (October-April), the winter and summer seasons. Variety of datasets such as UEACRU version 3.1, Global Precipitation Climatology Center v6 precipitation, and GHCN station beta version 2 precipitation data were used for precipitation observation. The political and social reality that Syria is facing right now it is the effect of several interconnected elements including religion, politics and economics. Recently, researchers have begun studying the impact climate might have on global conflicts, especially in Syria. This thought created critical consideration from the media, which triggered many investigations. The studies were conducted during the 6-month period from April to October because water levels in Syria essentially depend on rainfall during those months. This study highlights how unsustainable cultivation strategies executed under Hafez al-Assad's office have caused overuse of these stores while increasing significantly high cultivation production levels. The abuse of land saving has transformed water into a constrained good and, consequently, has increased the vulnerability of rural populations. In 2006, the north-eastern part of Syria was hit by a severe drought, where most of the national crops are grown, causing a decrease in agricultural production. Before the drought, 25% of Syria's GDP was attributed to agriculture; after 2008 this percentage dropped to 17%. The study also describes how current President Bashar al-Assad's financial deals have widened destabilization by evacuating the fuel and food sponsorships that many rural families rely on for their livelihoods. Despite the drought, these policies continued, making farming unsustainable, thus initiating mass movements of rural families to urban communities. In 2002, Syria's absolute urban population was 8.9 million, but in 2010 it reached 13.8 million, an increase of 50%. To decide whether drought was responsible for the 2011 uprising in Syria, analysts looked at verifiable rainfall and surface temperatures using information from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit and two Global Historical Climatology Network stations (GHCN) found closest to the north-eastern rural district of Syria. They discovered a pattern of decreasing precipitation and increasing temperatures during the twentieth century, which has been particularly intense in the last 20 years. They also found that these patterns were deeply predictable with assessments of 16 climate models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its Fifth Assessment Report on the Syrian region. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The authors hypothesized that drought added to the conflict in Syria draws support from literature that builds a measurable connection between climate and conflict. To support/defend the authors' hypothesis they have collected large amounts of ecological research. The research included climate, weather and other scientific models to break down their argument. The authors then go into their discussion of Syria's weakness towards drought and give evidence of some"..