Climate change in the Middle East and North Africa

Long-term changes in temperature, rainfall, and related climate patterns across the Middle East and North Africa. The region is warming rapidly, with serious risks from heat, water scarcity, drought, and sea-level rise.

Connect

Wet-bulb temperature: A measure combining air temperature and humidity that indicates the limits of heat dissipation by evaporation. Rising heat and humidity can push outdoor conditions toward dangerous limits.
Anthropogenic climate change: Long-term climate change caused by human activities, especially greenhouse gas emissions. Global human-driven warming sets the background for regional climate shifts.
Syrian drought (2006–2010): A multiyear drought in Syria that caused severe agricultural losses before the country's 2011 uprising. It illustrates how drought can worsen existing economic and social pressures, without alone explaining conflict.
Climate adaptation: Adjustments to human or natural systems that reduce harm from actual or expected climate impacts. Adaptation measures address heat, water shortages, and coastal risks across the region.
Climate attribution: The assessment of how human influence changes the likelihood or intensity of particular climate events. Attribution helps distinguish climate influence from natural variability in regional extremes.
Water scarcity: A condition in which available water supplies cannot meet human and ecological demand. Higher temperatures and shifting rainfall intensify pressure on already limited freshwater.
Aridification: A long-term shift toward drier climate conditions in a region. Some areas face declining rainfall alongside greater evaporative demand from heat.
Nile Delta: The fertile delta formed by the Nile as it enters the Mediterranean Sea. Sea-level rise, saltwater intrusion, and changing river flows threaten this densely settled area.
Climate change mitigation: Actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or increase their removal from the atmosphere. Emissions cuts limit the further warming that drives regional hazards.
Climate tipping point: A threshold beyond which a climate system shifts into a substantially different state. Potential abrupt changes could compound risks to ecosystems and water supplies.