Unprecedented extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, dust storms and torrential rains are expected to hit the region, warns a new international scientific study.
In preparation for the next UN climate change conference (COP27) to be held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt in November, an international team of scientists made a comprehensive assessment of climate change and its consequences in the Eastern Mediterranean region and of the Middle East (MMA), which includes Cyprus and Greece.
The results of the study carried out under the auspices of the Center of Excellence for Climate and Atmospheric Research (CARE-C) of the Cyprus Institute and the Max Planck Institute of Chemistry in Germany, were recently published in the prestigious scientific journal "Reviews of Geophysics".
The study identifies the AMMA as one of the global hotspots of climate change and points out that the region is warming almost twice as fast as the global average, and much faster than other populated areas of the planet. Based on the current situation, an average temperature increase of the order of magnitude is predicted until the end of the century
"This scenario will bring significant challenges to infrastructure and agriculture on the coasts and may lead to salinization of the water table, including the densely populated and cultivated Nile Delta," states Dr. Giorgos Zittis, chief editor of the research.
Scientists recommend the rapid implementation of decarbonisation actions with particular emphasis on the energy and transport sectors to prevent these developments.