The Arab region, a vast region of 22 countries in North Africa and the Middle East, had its hottest year on record in 2024, according to the first-ever climate report. The region’s average temperature in 2024 was surprisingly high, 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit (1.08 degrees Celsius) higher than the average annual temperature from 1991 to 2020, according to the report.
The rate of warming in the region is accelerating with an increase in climate-related phenomena such as floods and heat waves, according to the first Arab Regional Climate Status Report released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on December 4.
“2024 will be the hottest year on record for the Arab region, continuing a long-term trend,” WMO Secretary-General Celeste Sauro said in a statement. Some heatwaves “are pushing societies to their limits. Human health, ecosystems and economies cannot cope with prolonged heat above 50 degrees Celsius,” she said. [122 F] — Too hot to handle. ”
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The Arab region covers 5 million square miles (13 million square kilometers) from Morocco to the United Arab Emirates. It includes 15 of the world’s 20 most water-scarce countries. Although most of the region is dry and arid, some parts of North Africa experience wetter winters.
According to the report, temperatures in the Arab region rose by about 0.77 degrees Celsius (0.43 degrees Celsius) in the 10 years from 1991 to 2024. This is twice as fast as the global average for that period, and about twice as fast as the period from 1961 to 1990.
Over the 10-year period from 2015 to 2024, temperatures across the region were approximately 0.9 °F (0.58 °C) above the 1991-2020 average and 2.6 °F (1.44 °C) above the 1961-1990 average. In 2024, several countries experienced multiple heatwaves, some lasting up to two weeks. The southeastern Near East had 12 days in 2024 with high temperatures of at least 122 °F (50 degrees Celsius).
In addition to extreme heat, drought has affected parts of North Africa for the sixth year in a row, but this is not an anomaly in the region. The rains, which came after a long drought, caused flash floods in several countries, including Morocco, Libya, Somalia and Lebanon.
“Droughts are becoming more frequent and severe in one of the most water-stressed regions in the world,” Sauro said. “And at the same time, we’ve seen some devastating and dangerous floods.”
Early warning systems for both severe weather and natural disasters such as floods could help protect local populations as these events become more frequent, the report said.
“Multi-hazard early warning systems are more important than ever. This is not a cost; it is an investment that will save lives and livelihoods,” Sauro said in the report’s foreword. “Nearly 60% of Arab countries have such systems in place, which is above the global average, but it is still not enough.”
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Several countries are also investing in strategies to improve water management, such as desalinating seawater, building new dams, and constructing new wastewater treatment plants.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement that the report is a “qualitative step towards increasing our collective understanding of climate patterns, their associated risks, and their social and economic impacts.”
The report also includes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s projections of future climate scenarios for the region, providing a framework for planning climate impacts in the coming years.
“By incorporating climate projections, the report provides an annual snapshot of the current situation, while also serving as a strategic foresight tool to prepare the region for tomorrow’s climate realities,” Lora Dashti, Executive Director of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, said in a statement.
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