The hottest region on the planet
Climate change has quite rightly become the most controversial topic, nowadays, hasn’t it? The fact that every day something pops up in the news, regarding global warming or climate change, is terrifying. In spite of all the promises and pledges of our world leaders, politicians and major businesses, actions and precautions are not being taken, even the simplest of steps. Metaphorically, it’s like the saying about ostriches burying their heads in the sand! Ironically that’s a complete myth but the double irony is that ostriches do indeed bury their eggs in the sand and rotate them regularly with their heads – hence the myth it sounds similar to scientists warning us that there is a comet heading towards the earth and people are still acting as if nothing is happening.
Climate Change Impacting Already
Several regions are now impacted by Greenhouse gas emissions produced by us, ‘humans’,and have been identified by the IPCC and the vast majority of climate scientists, as the primary driver of climate change. And, as we are all aware, the Middle East is one of the hottest regions on the planet with temperatures regularly exceeding 50 degrees. It is expected that potentially, temperatures will be hitting 60 degrees Celsius or greater, making certain locations uninhabitable in the next decades and it’s all related to climate change.
Hotter climate, drier region; this is the suffocating state of the Middle East making it a centre for climate change issues. But what’s the problem, we hear asked? Just turn up the air conditioning! Everybody is talking about reaching net-zero by 2050, right? Well, the reality is that by this rate, temperatures in the hottest region of the planet are anticipated to rise more than twice as quickly as the worldwide average by 2030. Yes, achieving this target by 2050 is doable but we are neglecting an area where global warming and climate change are already existential and ongoing threats.
The question is, how many sectors in the economy would climate change affect?
Agriculture will become one of the most vulnerable sectors of the economy due to climate change. Excessive heat has a detrimental impact on plant growth and animal output, therefore exposure to high temperatures might result in a significant loss in agricultural production. Its vulnerability stems from the fact that the agriculture industry employs the greatest number of people in the Middle East.
The irony is, that people think they can prevent this excessive heat is by using air-conditioners, which is like throwing petrol on the fire and just adds to the problem. In nations such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Yemen; air conditioners have become common place but the fact is, almost all air condition is electricity powered, which produces gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Without intention, we are making it worse, and awareness is not sufficient out there to educate people and prevent them from choosing the effortless way out.
Climate change may spark violent rivalry over limited resources in areas where Middle Easterners may still reside. Despite the fact that some degree of warming is unavoidable, regional governments and their international partners have done hardly anything to incorporate climate change into their policies aimed at reducing instability and conflict.
Leaders are caught in a conundrum as the Middle Eastern area warms twice as quickly as the rest of the world, yet oil treasures keep governments in power.
This is more of a generalized approach to the subject. Our next articles will be focused on particular countries and how each is dealing with such a catastrophe.
