Sahara to get hotter, drier, smaller

By the end of this century, the world’s hottest desert will be even hotter. The

Sahara will also be smaller and drier than it is now, according to an

international team of climate modelers.

The Sahara stretches the full width of northern Africa and now covers an area the

size of the United States. But that area isn’t constant: It can swell and shrink

significantly in response to long-term weather patterns, says Gerald A.