25 May Middle East to face extreme temperatures
A study by the Nature Sustainability journal suggests that entire populations within the Middle East will have to combat extreme temperatures in the coming summer months as a result of climate change.
Countries across the equator, including the wider Middle East, are at risk of “unprecedented heat”, with annual temperatures being at 29 degrees Celsius or higher on average.
The study was carried out by Tim Lenton, climate specialist and Director of the Systems Institute at the University of Exeter, UK. It found that global temperatures will continue to rise yearly between 1.5 Celsius and 2.7 Celsius. In a scenario where the global population is 9.5 billion and temperatures are rising by 2.7 Celsius, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain will have almost the entirety of their population exposed to life-threatening conditions on a regular basis.
Kuwait and Oman would have more than 80% of their population exposed to the heat, followed by Saudi Arabia with more than 60% and Yemen with about half.
The population is not the only thing that will be affected by these increasingly dangerous conditions, as tightly-knit residential settings, giga-project construction, dry grassy areas and even animal populations are all threatened as a result of the dry, highly flammable conditions.
Wild fires, building fires and more threaten the lives of the populace within the Middle East, as well as the animals that make up the ecosystem.
However, as the population and fire safety procedures continue to grow, teams within the Middle East will have the capacity to combat these increased wild fires and through funding, training and technology have a chance to combat the rising heat.