New research suggests huge drought wave in Syria

A new research predicted that the catastrophic drought which occurred in Syria between 2007-2010, the most severe for around 1,100 years, causing the displacement of over one million people and fueling the ongoing civil war, may have repercussions in the coming period.
Data collected from rocks has revealed that previous climate models may be underestimating the severity of droughts likely to hit the region in the future. 
research team led by the University of Reading traveled to Iraq to collect a stalagmite rock and used it to present the first ever detailed climate reconstruction for the eastern part of the Middle East's most important region for agriculture – the Fertile Crescent.
Pascal Flohr, who led the study, said: 'Drought has caused 1.5 million people to move into different parts of Syria to get food and find jobs.
'This was no normal drought - it was the most severe for the last millennia, probably two.'
Many scientists believe this was an important contributing factor to the turmoil witnessed in Syria in recent years.