Héloïse Goy, with Alexis Patri
Journalist Hugo Clément presents Monday evening on France 5 a new investigation of his program “Sur le front”. He explains to the microphone of Europe 1 why the threat of arid climates and desertification is growing in the world. And specifies that France also risks being affected by this threat.
And the desert advances. With On the front, broadcast Monday evening on France 5, journalist Hugo Clément presents a new investigation into the consequences of climate change. This time he was interested in the advance of the desert. Viewers will discover him walking in a dry river in the Namibe plains of Namibia, in what is the oldest desert in the world. The growing drought notably creates a water war between men and the wild animals which penetrate the villages, because they no longer have a place to drink.
“The fight against climate change and drought takes on its full meaning”
Hugo Clément also visited other regions of the world increasingly affected by this aridity. “We learn that every day men and women have to fight with their meager means to prevent their village from being buried by the sand”, he explains at the microphone of Europe 1. “We become aware of the severity of the drought affecting these areas which are already very arid.”
Among these regions, the Sahara. “It has always been a dry desert. But there was some rainfall which allowed the vegetation to sink its roots into the dunes and help slow the advance of the sand. With climate change, these few clumps of vegetation are in disappearing”, warns the journalist. “The fight against climate change and drought takes on its full meaning. With this documentary, I learned that there are ways to adapt to these very arid climates.”
Preparing the south of France for drought
These means of adapting to this increasing aridity are sometimes very inventive. Hugo Clément, for example, met people in the United Arab Emirates responsible for making “clouds rain” via specially chartered planes. In Senegal, the journalist also met people who dedicate their lives to sowing seeds by hand to recreate flora in the desert.
“It is possible to live in a very dry, very arid world, with advancing sand and in extreme conditions. But it is very complicated and it is a daily struggle. A study that in 2070 a third of humanity will live in areas as hot as the Sahara today,” says Hugo Clément. “We are becoming aware of the need to take up the climate issue. The Sahara in France is not for today, but the projections estimate that the south of France will be affected by an arid climate in the next 50 years. You have to prepare for it.”
On the forehead, when the desert approaches is broadcast Monday evening on France 5 at 9 p.m.