UN agency says Arab region is heating at twice the global rate
Source: Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) Data Store (CDS) • * relative to the 1991-2020 long-term average
The Arab region is being pushed to its limits by extreme heat and deepening drought, according to a new World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) report that finds the area is warming at twice the global average, reported the Financial Times on December 11th.
The study from the UN agency said extreme weather events last year affected 3.8 million people and caused more than 300 deaths, largely due to heatwaves and flooding. Covering 22 countries from the Gulf and the Levant to North Africa and Somalia, the region recorded an average near surface temperature rise of 1.08C above the 1991 to 2020 average and 1.94C above the 1961 to 1990 baseline.
WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo warned that temperatures reaching or exceeding 50C in parts of the region were stretching societies to breaking point. “Human health, ecosystems and economies can’t cope with extended spells of more than 50C, it is simply too hot to handle,” she said.
The report also noted an 83 per cent rise in recorded disasters between 1980-1999 and 2000-2019, underscoring what it described as a steep increase in the frequency and severity of climate-linked events.
Its release comes after the Arab Group, which includes Saudi Arabia, opposed stronger global action on fossil-fuel phaseouts during the UN COP30 climate summit. Although fossil fuels are the main driver of human-induced climate change, many economies in the region remain heavily dependent on oil and gas revenues, even as they begin to expand solar and wind capacity.
Last year was the hottest on record globally and this year is also expected to rank among the top three warmest, despite the cooling effects of La Niña. The warming phase of the sea surface temperature is known as “El Niño” and the cooling phase is known as “La Niña”. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology reported that La Niña has re-emerged.
The WMO warned that drought conditions have sharply worsened across the region, especially in western North Africa, following six consecutive failed rainy seasons. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have endured destructive flash floods triggered by extreme rainfall.
Rola Dashti, executive secretary of the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, said declining rainfall “affects water scarcity and jeopardises food production” while “rising sea levels also threaten coastal cities”.
Francesco Paparella, director of the Mubadala Arabian Center for Climate and Environmental Sciences at NYU Abu Dhabi, noted that the warming Gulf is intensifying humidity, driving “higher heat stress for people living in the coastal cities of the Gulf” and strengthening storms.
However, he added that “it’s technology that makes a place liveable or not liveable,” saying Gulf nations must maintain “a level of affluence, technology and energy availability” to ensure widespread access to cooling as temperatures continue to climb.
Financial Times, National Ocean Service (US), Insurance News, Maghrebi.org
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