--- description: Social scientists have warned in recent years that drought along the Mediterranean may contribute to instability and conflict in the region title: Syria Conflict Drought: Climate Change Played a Role image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a6de08b4cd8fa10/69888010524fc0d81fdf702d/syria-lebanon-drought.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [climate change](/tag/climate-change/) ## climate change Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Middle East Drought That May Contribute to Syrian War is Worst in 900 Years, Study Says  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Mar 3, 2016 5:01 PM CUT  The artificial Qaraoun lake in Lebanon's Bekaa valley on on April 14, 2014 as the country braced for summer drought. The artificial Qaraoun lake in Lebanon's Bekaa valley on on April 14, 2014 as the country braced for summer drought.Joseph Eid—AFP/Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Mar 3, 2016 5:01 PM CUT Social scientists have warned in recent years that drought along the Mediterranean Sea in the Middle East may contribute to instability and conflict in the region. Now, [new research](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/nasa-finds-drought-in-eastern-mediterranean-worst-of-past-900-years "undefined") shows the drought may be the most devastating to strike the region in 900 years. Researchers behind the [study](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2015JD023929/full "undefined"), conducted by NASA and published in the _Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres,_ used tree rings to show that the period from 1998 to 2012 was 10% to 20% drier than the worst period in the previous 900 years. Man-made climate change is at least in part to blame for the severity of the drought, according to the study. The devastating drought has contributed to a slew of problems in the region, including poverty and food insecurity. In turn, those issues have contributed to conflicts that have driven [millions to migrate](http://time.com/4024210/climate-change-migrants/ "undefined") away from the region. Some social scientists have even [linked climate change and terrorism](http://time.com/4113801/climate-change-terrorism/ "undefined"). “I’m not telling you that the crisis in Syria was caused by climate change,” Secretary of State John Kerry said in a [speech](http://time.com/4077597/kerry-climate-speech/ "undefined") in October. “But the devastating drought clearly made a bad situation a lot worse.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4246248/middle-east-drought-that-may-contribute-to-syrian-war-is-worst-in-900-years-study-says/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4246248/middle-east-drought-that-may-contribute-to-syrian-war-is-worst-in-900-years-study-says/"},"headline":"Middle East Drought That May Contribute to Syrian War is Worst in 900 Years, Study Says","datePublished":"2016-03-03T17:01:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:35:29.678Z","description":"Climate change is at least in part to blame","url":"https://time.com/4246248/middle-east-drought-that-may-contribute-to-syrian-war-is-worst-in-900-years-study-says/","keywords":["climate change","Syria"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a6de08b4cd8fa10/69888010524fc0d81fdf702d/syria-lebanon-drought.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a6de08b4cd8fa10/69888010524fc0d81fdf702d/syria-lebanon-drought.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Syria Lebanon Drought","caption":"Syria Lebanon Drought","creditText":"Joseph Eid—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/climate-change/","name":"climate change"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4246248/middle-east-drought-that-may-contribute-to-syrian-war-is-worst-in-900-years-study-says/","name":"Middle East Drought That May Contribute to Syrian War is Worst in 900 Years, Study Says"}}]}] ```