Vol. 7, Issue 12, Part F (2025)

The global surface temperature has been increasing mainly due to increased greenhouse gas concentration and emissions, which in turn causes global warming and climate change. Iraq has been experiencing the impacts of climate change, but there are no detailed studies up to date, especially at the local scale. This study locally discusses the relationship between changes in climate factors (mainly temperature and rainfall) and land degradation in drought and desertification in southern Iraq. We used the region's historical temperature and rainfall data, including satellite images from 1988 and 2018, to understand the extent of land use, land cover change, and degradation over 30 years. To accurately assess the extent of desertification in the study area, we used unsupervised classification to analyze the two satellite images. We found that the annual average temperature consistently increased while the yearly average rainfall showed significant fluctuation in the study. Changes in temperature and precipitation have contributed considerably to drought, which has led to the expansion of desertification in southern Iraq. Results generally showed a clear relationship between the change in climatic factors and desertification. In addition, there was a significant increase in the land covered by dunes, but barren lands and wetlands have shown a noticeable decrease. We concluded that climate change combined with land degradation has caused an increase in the extent of desertification in the study area. Therefore, southern Iraq needs mitigation measures and strategies for climate change and desertification.