Land Degradation in 2026: Desertification & Food Risk

The Gobi Desert remains a major desertification hotspot in northern China and southern Mongolia, but the most recent credible sources in the search results do **not** confirm that the expansion is still 3,600 km² per year. Older and secondary sources cite that figure for grassland loss in China, while newer material indicates China’s Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program has slowed or even reversed desert expansion in some areas, with one source stating the Gobi was shrinking by more than 2,000 km² per year in 2022. Another source notes the program has been effective at halting desert expansion and reducing dust-storm impacts, though it does not provide a 2025-2026 pan-regional loss estimate. The crisis still affects agriculture, grazing land, and air quality across northern China and Mongolia, where desertification is driven by overgrazing, soil erosion, water depletion, and climate change. Reported impacts include damage to farmland, dust storms affecting Beijing and other eastern cities, and broader land degradation across parts of Central Asia, but the exact current annual loss of farmland and the size of the affected population are not verified by the recent sources provided.