Warnings of a “catastrophe” creeping in 3 Arab countries



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The report warned of what it called a “disaster”, which is creeping into 3 Arab countries, while other countries in the region are also facing it.

Al Arabiya TV released details of the report prepared by the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) on climate change in the Middle East.

The report warned of the exacerbation of the phenomenon of climate change in the Middle East, and a number of countries in the region have been exposed to a range of extreme weather conditions, from snowfall to flash floods, in going through forest fires and strong heat waves.

According to the AFED report, the region is expected to face more challenges caused by climate change in the years to come, leading to higher temperatures, droughts, lack of water availability and rising water levels. sea.

The report notes that “water availability” is one of the serious problems facing the Arab world, as 18 out of 22 Arab countries face severe water shortages.

The report warns that there are 3 countries, namely: Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, which are at high risk of losing the fertility of their lands.

The three countries are considered to be the most fertile lands in the Arab world and the deterioration of water supplies in all three countries will be a major “disaster” for the region and the world.

The report attributes this to the degradation of natural aquifers and the gradual drying up of rivers.

The report also identified sea level rise as a major threat in Arab countries, as coastal areas are vulnerable to flooding and erosion, as well as increased salinity of soils and coastal aquifers, which poses a serious threat, as a number of major Arab cities are located in the coastal areas.

According to the report, “a sea level rise of just one meter will directly affect more than 41,000 square kilometers of Arab coastal land.”

The report warned that the Arab region is already witnessing an increase in extreme weather conditions, drawing attention to the heat waves and forest fires that Lebanon witnessed last summer.

Last July, cities in the Middle East recorded extreme temperatures, such as Baghdad, Basra and Damascus.

A dangerous flood also ravaged Sudan, killing more than 100 people and displacing hundreds of thousands.

The Sudanese Minister of Labor and Social Development said floods broke previous records in 1946 and 1988, underlining fears of heavy rains and flooding.

In addition, in the Gulf region, heavy rains flooded roads and disrupted transport, for example in January 2020, when heavy rains caused flooding in the United Arab Emirates.



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