The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden story could almost be interpreted as an account of catastrophic climate change. Both the Sumerian Epic Of Gilgamesh and genesis stories of the Bible suggest a lush land of plenty, that was much more capable of nurturing civilization during the late Stone Age, than the arid land it became by about 4000 years ago, with drought afflicting Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Even the Sahara was lush and green during the late Stone Age. Starting around 7000 years ago, when rains returned after a 1000 years of drought, bones and artefacts suggest that a large population was able to herd cattle and hunt fish and wildlife. Their burials indicate they had spiritual beliefs and cared for their dead.
Apparently Climate Change will bring rain back once more to the Euphrates-Tigris watershed. This is land encompassing parts of Turkey, Syria, northern Iraq, and north-eastern Iran and the strategically important headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
In a detailed study, to be published in the Journal of Hydrometeorology, Evans uses regional climate modeling, which can run counter to global climate change averages.
He found that while storm activity over the eastern Mediterranean would decline, moisture-bearing winds would be channeled inland more often and diverted by the Zagros Mountains, bringing an increase of over 50% in annual rainfall to the Euphrates-Tigris watershed.
This would mark a return to the original climate setting in which we began to settle down and farm in the cradle of civilization.
The Fall by Lucas Cranach the Elder: 1533
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