How do the inhabitants of the Middle East view the phenomenon of climate change during the month of March?
According to data published by Axios, 2024 is expected to be alarmingly hotter than 2023 and this is despite the fact that in 2023 the world witnessed weather conditions which were often deadly.
As far as the Middle East region is concerned, it is one of the regions in the world most affected by climate change, with rising temperatures, a decrease in rainfall, rising sea levels and the inundation of coastal areas, receding snow and ice and changes in weather patterns. All these changes have led to numerous negative effects. Amongst them has been the increase in political tensions between countries over shared water resources because of the scarcity of rain and rising temperatures, which have significantly impacted agriculture, livestock, and rural livelihoods. In the period between 1980 and 2022, temperatures across the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region rose by an average of 0.46°C every decade, well above the global average of 0.18°C. Rainfall patterns in the MENA region countries have also changed dramatically, exacerbating water scarcity, with droughts occurring in Morocco in 2022 and Tunisia in 2023. Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the spectrum, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Yemen experienced severe flooding in 2022.
The combination of low rainfall and severe global warming have contributed to the occurrence of severe droughts. The average sea level is expected to rise at a rate similar to global estimates. This poses serious challenges for coastal infrastructure and agriculture and may also lead to the salinization of coastal aquifers. In this way, drought destroys farmland and causes rivers to dry out. Sandstorms also contribute to the destruction of coastal areas. In addition to the human toll, climate change in the Middle East also carries with it high economic and social costs. According to the World Bank, by the year 2050, it is estimated that climate change could force up to 216 million people to become internally displaced, with internal migration hotspots beginning to emerge as early as 2030 and then spreading and gradually worsening.