Changin Climate and Mummies

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/03/09/why-a-changing-climate-could-destroy-some-of-the-worlds-oldest-mummies/

Arica is often referred to as the driest place on Earth — but locals say that’s changing. According to Sepulveda, the city has seen increases in precipitation and humidity of late. “Everybody say[s] that here,” she averred. Indeed, weather historian Christopher Burt wrote about Arica in 2013, noting that despite its famous reputation for dryness, weather records from 1971 to 2000 suggest it has been somewhat wetter than usual of late.

This may not be a change that can be definitively pinned on global climate change caused by humans, cautioned Ralph Mitchell, a Harvard microbiologist who teamed up with the Chilean researchers to figure out what was ailing the mummies. But it’s a change nonetheless. “Our colleagues in northern Chile say it’s terribly obvious that the place is foggy a lot more than it ever was,” Mitchell said.