New research of trees in northwest Africa has revealed droughts in the latter part of the 20th century are some of the fiercest experienced in that area.
The research looked at tree rings in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia and found that there have been frequent and severe droughts during the 13th and 16th centuries, as well as in the latter part of the 20th century.
A team of scientists from several countries used the information provided by tree rings to look back to the year 1179. One tree from Morocco dates all the way back to the year 883, while many of the oldest trees sampled contain climate data dating all the way back to the medieval period. (more…)