As the global feast and celebration for Muslims around the world known as Eid ended on Thursday night, the Middle East has been caught in a searing heat wave.
The region, where 20% of the world’s Muslim population lives, has seen record heat this week. According Towards the Capital Climate Gang, Lebanon saw its highest temperature recorded on Tuesday at 114 degrees Fahrenheit (45.6 degrees Celsius). Damascus, the capital of Syria, reached 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 degrees Celsius) on Wednesday, tying with its highest temperature on record. And even more surprising, in Iraq on Tuesday, Baghdad’s temperatures rose above 125 degrees Fahrenheit (51.7 degrees Celsius), the highest temperature in the city on record, and Basra soared above 127.4. degrees Fahrenheit (53 degrees Celsius) on Monday and Tuesday. That narrowly lost the highest temperature on Earth recorded this year, which was established earlier this month in Death Valley.
But the heat in the Middle East is covered by heavily populated cities. Nor are they brief periods of unthinkable heat; Temperatures in the region have remained in the triple digits overnight, forcing millions of people to suffer under suffocating conditions. Fortunately, the most extreme heat is decreasing. Temperatures are forecast to reach an extremely comfortable peak. [checks notes] 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) in the coming days.
These mind-blowing temperatures are linked to a “heat dome,” or an area of high atmospheric pressure, over the Red Sea that has been moving west. The dome not only trapped hot air below it, but also removed cloud cover from the sky to offer some shade. The same phenomenon is what caused record heat in Death Valley earlier this month and has caused widespread intense heat in the rest of the US.
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Extreme heat is one of the characteristics of the climate crisis, which is raising background temperatures and making heat waves more common and intense from Siberia to Syria. While it may not seem as dramatic as other weather disasters like hurricanes or tornadoes, it is the deadliest form of extreme weather on the planet. And while health experts recommend fighting the heat by staying indoors with the air conditioner on, for many across the region, that’s not an option. In Iraq, for example, violent conflict In the wake of America’s seemingly endless war on terror, it has devastated the power grid.
Increased demand through the heat wave has left generators overwhelmed and has led to more frequent blackouts. Some Iraqis only receive a few hours of electricity per day. Private generators are sometimes available, but they are exorbitantly expensive to use and still provide limited power, Al Jazeera reported.
In Baghdad, protesters have taken to the streets in part due to frustrations over lack of access to electricity amid hellish temperatures. Earlier this week, security forces two protesters killed and wounded almost a dozen more.
As the climate crisis worsens, the Middle East is likely to have hotter summers. By mid-century, parts of the region, such as Africa, may be so hot that humans won’t be able to survive there. There is also evidence that extreme heat and other weather events can also exacerbate the war, which could worsen the situation in the conflict zone.
The heat wave provides even more evidence that we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and launch fossil fuels onto the sidewalk. And since many conflicts in the Middle East arise from competition for its oil reserves, that would be beneficial for everyone.
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