West Asia, East Mediterranean heating twice as fast as the global average: Study
The region is warming up at an alarming pace
West Asia and Eastern Mediterranean are heating twice as fast as the global average, according to a new study conducted under the aegis of The Cyprus Institute’s Climate and Atmosphere Research Center and the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry.
Reportedly, the study reveals that the regions in the aforementioned geographical area are expected to witness 'unprecedented' heat waves. Furthermore, water scarcity caused due to rainfall shortage, longer-lasting and more severe droughts might impact the region's 4000 million populace.
The report covered areas stretching from Greece and Egypt in the West to Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE as well as Iran in the east. It stated that the region witnessed an average increase of 0.45 C per decade from 1981-2019 when the global average stood at 0.27 C only.
WATCH |WION Climate Tracker | Extreme heat hits Iraq and Saudi Arabia
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If the changes are not clocked in quickly, the region might be heating by 5 C in the coming decades, making human survival extremely difficult.
“This would imply severe challenges for coastal infrastructure and agriculture and can lead to the salinization of coastal aquifers," said Dr George Zittis, co-author of the report.
Not only is the region becoming a victim of climate change, but it is also contributing immensely to the problem. The study states that oil-rich West Asia is expected to overtake European Union as the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.
Read more:Is climate change affecting wine's flavour?
The study comes ahead of UN'sClimate Change Conference, more colloquially known asthe COP27 climate summit scheduled to take place in Egypt later this year.
The scientists authoring the study have argued that strong collaboration among the countries is absolutely necessary if they are to cope with extreme climatic conditions.
"Since many of the regional outcomes of climate change are transboundary, stronger collaboration among the countries is indispensable to cope with the expected adverse impacts." said another author of the study.
(With inputs from agencies)
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