https://www.wsj.com/articles/rising-temperatures-turns-middl…
**Rising Temperatures Turn Middle East Region Into Climate Hot Spot**
**New study shows Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean are growing hotter twice as fast as the global average**
**By Eric Niiler, The Wall Street Journal, Sept. 14, 2022**
**...**
**A populous region encompassing the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean has become a climate hot spot, with temperatures in recent years rising almost twice as fast as the global average, according to a new analysis of historical climate data and current observations.**
**The sun-scorched region, which spans more than a dozen countries with a collective population exceeding 400 million, has warmed at a rate of 0.81 degree Fahrenheit (0.45 degree Celsius) each decade since 1981, the analysis showed. The per-decade global average rose 0.49 degree F (0.27 degree C) in the same time frame. Temperatures in the region have risen faster than in Europe, North America and other highly populous parts of the globe....**
**Along with high humidity, extreme high temperatures in summer are now common in the region, which encompasses Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, the Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. In June, Kuwait, Iraq and Iran experienced temperatures above 120 degrees F (49 degrees C). In September 2020, a Kuwaiti city reached 127 degrees F (53 degrees C).....**
**Outdoor work becomes nearly impossible when the wet-bulb temperature — a scale that measures heat and humidity as well as cloud cover and other meteorological conditions — reaches 90 degrees F (32 degrees C), according to a 2020 study by researchers at Purdue University. Since 2005, the wet-bulb temperature in the Persian Gulf region has reached 95 degrees F (35 degrees C) nine times, according to a 2020 NASA study....When temperatures are getting close to the body temperature and the humidity is high, then the body cannot basically cool down...** [end quote]
The Middle East combines a large, dense population, widespread poverty, volatile ethnic and religious strife…and oil wealth which is concentrated in a few hands.
We were reminded of the destructive potential on September 11. When life is impossible for people, they may be attracted to extremist movements. Many have already fled, mostly to Europe.
The Eastern Mediterranean/Middle East region is one of several global hot spots where temperatures are rising faster than the global average. Others include Indonesia, southern Africa, the Amazon basin and the Arctic, which recent studies show is warming four times faster than the global average. All of these are sensitive regions where climate change can have worldwide ecological and/or Macroeconomic impact.
Heating of the Middle East may have near-term impacts. When people are desparate they do desparate things.
When it’s impossible to work outside and only the rich can afford air conditioning…what will the millions of poor people do?
Wendy