Monsoon deluges turned ancient Sahara green
Leaf-wax measurements used to reconstruct 25,000 years of rainfall
![Sahara desert](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/011817_bb_Sahara_free.jpg?fit=860%2C460&ssl=1)
RAIN OUT Rainier conditions than previously thought turned the Sahara Desert into grasslands, lakes and rivers from 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, a new study finds. A brief return to aridity around 8,000 years ago set the stage for cattle herders to spread across North Africa, researchers suspect.
Dimity B./Flickr (CC BY 2.0)