This August, Israel is facing one of the most punishing heat waves in recent history-exactly the kind of event that climate scientists have warned will grow more intense and common in the Middle East. Forecasters predict that temperatures will rise to 8-10 degrees Celsius, above early-August averages. In Jerusalem, the temperature will surge from a pleasant 29°C to a blistering 40°C. Additionally, the Jordan Valley will have temperatures as high as 50°C. The heat is expected to last around a week.

Israel’s public health system, water infrastructure, and power grid operators the heat is a high-pressure test. Demand for all of the aforementioned services soars during times of high heat. Israel will be tested to see if their energy, water, health, and other essential services can keep up with the high temperatures and the demand that comes from it. 

The Middle East has proven to be at the epicenter of global warming and climate change. It warms much faster than the global average. The increase in multi-day heat events proves this fact. Israeli authorities have sent out messages this week urging stronger precautions. Hydration, staying inside, and providing extra care for vulnerable groups are just some of the ways to help against this major public-safety hazard

The heat also compounds other environmental pressures. In Eastern Israel, near the Dead Sea and Jordan valley, high temperatures drive water demand. 

One silver lining, which is also one of the causes of the heat wave, is that Israel has an abundance of strong sunlight. Solar farms and rooftop panels help provide the power grid with low-cost electricity and energy. The government and people of Israel have bought into the solar energy wave. According to the Energy Ministry, approximately 15% of electricity in Israel is solar, and the target is to get to 30% by 2030. 

See Related Article: Yosef Abramowitz: The Israeli Bringing the Sun to the World’s Darkest Places

While solar energy helps provide an abundance of energy, especially during a heat wave, energy demand grows in the evening as the sun sets. Energy storage is the solution. Private companies, homes, and the government have invested in storage. Increased storage leads to increased energy reserves, which allows the grid to handle more stress, for example, more air conditioning units being turned on during a heat wave.

When a heat wave hits, it exposes weak links across a country’s whole system. Traditional energy infrastructure does not function to its best capabilities under the stress of extreme heat. That is why Israel has invested more in solar energy. However, with this increase comes more storage, panels, and other energy-related projects. These new developments are not only more cost-effective in the long term, but they can also be potentially life-saving during emergencies. 

With high heat periods comes an increase in water demand. However, at the same time, reservoirs and water sources are put under stress due to increased evaporation. In a time of consistent global warming and existing water pressures, a heat wave is an added emergency for water. 

See Related Article: Sea of Galilee still critical water levels, despite winter rain

The ecosystem is also affected. Specifically, the marine ecosystem of Israel. In Eilat, the corals are known to be resistant. Even the resilience of the coral cannot help during a time of heat waves. This affects marine life and, therefore, humans who use the ocean as a natural resource. 

Israel’s upcoming heat wave is an example of why countries need increased climate readiness. With more storage and increased use of solar power, Israel is more prepared to face this extreme weather. 

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Following US president Donald Trump’s announcement that his country will pull out of the Paris climate change agreement, scientists and governments the world over have been wondering if agreed goals of reduced world temperatures are now attainable. This apprehension is particularly high in the Middle East, where summertime temperatures in countries like Iraq now surpass 50 degrees Celsius; and crazy heat domes in the Arabian Gulf region will mean no one can live there by 2100.

An August 7 New York Times article referred to a recent scientific report,  warning that global temperatures have been rising steadily since the 1980’s; and that Americans are “feeling the effects of climate change right now” .The report, compiled by scientists from 13 federal agencies appears to be contrary to opinions stated by both President Trump and members of his cabinet, including the Environment Secretary, Scott Pruitt. Pruitt, formerly the Oklahoma Attorney General, is himself an advocate of fossil fuels as a major energy source. A draft of the report, says that “evidence for a changing climate abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans”.

The report, which was endorsed by some of America’s top scientific entities, including the National Academy of Science, notes that even a small increase in global temperatures will make a big difference in global climate. A difference in global temperatures of between 1.5 and 2 degress Celcius can result in more intense heat waves, more violent storms; and further destruction of coral reefs (vital to preservation of ocean marine life).

While the report said that linking prolonged droughts in parts of the USA are still difficult to link to human influence, it did indicate that “more then half the global temperature increase since 1951 can be linked to human causes. This “human influence” may now be what is causing such phenomenoms as the above mentioned “crazy heat domes” in the Middle East.

Scientists who were involved in compiling data for the report are now afraid that the Trump Administration may either try to alter the findings of the report or keep them under wraps altogether. This is especially true when issues of national security seem to be now drawing most of the attention in the White House. If the report is not taken seriously by President Trump and his cabinet, it will only be a matter of time before issues of climate change will become those of national security as well.

More articles on climate change and its impact worldwide

Are UN sponsored climate change goals attainable?

Will U.S. leaving Paris climate change agreement adversely affect the Middle East?

The sixth mass global extinction has arrived

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Springtime in this region brings a 50-day period of dust and heat, called hamsin in Arabic and sharav in Hebrew, where temperatures can rise up to 10 degrees Celsius in under an hour. Temperatures reached 37.1 degrees in Jerusalem, 40.6 degrees in Beit Dagan, and 43.4 degrees in Be’er Sheva.

The extreme weather events are not unusual, but now in its eighth day, this one is notably long-lasting. So far, 442 people were treated for heat-related illness since Saturday morning. About 196 people have been treated or fainting in the extremely high temperatures.

Hot, dry air caused fires in and around Yerushalayim.  One large burn swept through area forests, fought back by ground services and firefighting aircraft while rescue services evacuated vulnerable residents from their homes. In Haifa, six firetrucks battled a blaze in a small olive grove. Although the fire filled surrounding streets with smoke, no injuries were reported.  Another fire broke out at the Arik Bridge over the Jordan River, not far from Tiberias. A forest fire erupted near the Negev town of Netivot, and a Christian YMCA guest house was destroyed in the Kinneret.

Sections of Routes 44, 85, 375, 435, and 444 were closed because of the fires.

Meteorologist Lior Suderi told Ynetnews that this heat wave is expected to break the nation’s 1988 record of extreme May heat, and temperatures today in eastern Israel could reach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). Yesterday’s record high was recorded in kibbutz Yotvata in southern Israel at 47 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). A sharav of this duration occurs only once every 10 years.

High May temperatures in May are a deviation from the region’s typical weather. Meteorologist Dr. Baruch Ziv told Ynetnews, “It’s extremely hot. We don’t reach such temperatures and for so long every year. The temperatures in Israel’s hot season rose by two degrees over 40 years. Our climate is already changing, and it’s going to change further. Coping with it is done by air conditioning, and as a result, there’s a rise in electricity demand, and the implication is that the Earth gets warmer.” Ziv forecasts that the country could expect extremely high temperatures in the months ahead.

Scientists calculate that in 85 years, climate change will render Arab Gulf states unlivable. Nations south of the Mediterranean are also expected to suffer intense challenges from water scarcity.

The Israel Electric Corporation is preparing for the higher demand for electricity that comes with spiked temperatures, with actions that include advance maintenance works and a decision to delay power cuts for delinquent customers until the heat wave breaks. CEO, Ofer Bloch, told KosherPress, “The Israel Electric Corporation prepared in recent months to meet the supply of electricity during peak demands in the months of summer 2016. We are available to the public via our Facebook page, our website and our 103 telephone line.”

Meteorologists predict that Tuesday will bring cooler air, but temperatures will remain higher than what is considered seasonal. By Wednesday, temperatures will drop further. That is, until they rise again.

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More and more studies highlight the truly drastic action we need to take at Doha to avoid four degree warming – but is it too late?

According to a new report, heat waves in the Middle East with temperatures consistently above 40 degrees could seem like ‘a pleasant prospect in a few decades’ if we don’t take drastic action to stop climate change. The report by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and German NGO Climate Analytics for the World Bank has been released in the lead up to COP18 and is designed to shock us into action. It states that even if the current carbon pledges were met, “there is roughly a 20 percent likelihood of exceeding 4°C by 2100, and a 10 percent chance of 4°C being exceeded as early as the 2070.” An increase of 6°C or more in average summer months was predicted for the Middle East by the report.

Many scientists now predict that a two-degree rise by the end of the century will happen – with catastrophic results such as increased water scarcity, flooding, coastal erosion and the loss of 30 percent of animal and plant species. The only thing really up for debate is whether or when we will hit 4-degree warming. A four-degree temperature rise by the end of the century could create not only a new class of heat waves but may trigger declining global food stocks and sea-level rises affecting hundreds of millions of people. Indeed the UN climate talks in Doha have reportedly considered adding focus to “loss and damage” which indicates a growing realisation that we will not be able to avoid serious warming.

Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank wrote in the foreword of the report: “A 4°C world is likely to be one in which communities, cities and countries would experience severe disruptions, damage, and dislocation, with many of these risks spread unequally. It is likely that the poor will suffer most and the global community could become more fractured, and unequal than today.”

“The world must tackle the problem of climate change more aggressively,” Kim added. “Greater adaptation and mitigation efforts are essential and solutions exist. We need a global response equal to the scale of the climate problem, a response that puts us on a new path of climate smart development and shared prosperity. But time is very short.”

The recently released UNEP Emissions Gap Report echoed many of these findings. It revealed a growing gap between the emissions reductions needed to avoid irreversible impacts of climate change and the world’s projected emissions reductions. Greenhouse gas emissions levels are now around 14 per cent above where they need to be in 2020. Instead of declining, concentration of warming gases like carbon dioxide (C02) are actually increasing in the atmosphere—up around 20 per cent since 2000. It suggests that the warming could be prevented with strong leadership focused on enacting aggressive policies and investments towards efficiency and sustainability.

“Governments meeting in Doha for COP18 now need to urgently implement existing decisions which will allow for a swifter transition towards a low-carbon and resilient world,” explained Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. “This notably means amending the Kyoto Protocol, developing a clear vision of how greenhouse gases can be curbed globally before and after 2020, and completing the institutions required to help developing countries green their economies and adapt, along with defining how the long-term climate finance that developing countries need can be mobilized. ”

For more on the COP18 see: 
COP18 Updates: Students, Women and A President Courting Oil Executives
Egypt’s Position for COP18 Explained
Will The Kyoto Protocol Survive Qatar 2012?
Message to Qatar From Arab Youth – ‘Take the Lead on Climate Change!’
Lifesaving Sahara Forest Project to Start with COP18 in Qatar
Can Qatar Balance Its Interests and Host a Successful Climate Summit?

: IRIN
:: Image of heatwave via Shutterstock.com

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A sweltering heat wave has swept through Tunisia, disrupting both electrical and water supplies just days before Ramadan begins. Extreme heat destabilizes electrical cables, with as many as three cables a day fraying under the pressure in some cities. Disruptions in the electricity supply in turn cause water pipes to malfunction, leaving many homes, businesses and hospitals without a steady supply of either.

In a surprise but welcome move that prioritizes people over commerce, the National Water Supply and Distribution Company (SONEDE) in Gabes cut its water supply to a chemical company that has long threatened the southern city’s water resource.

Unprecedented Highs in Tunisia

The National Institute of Meteorology reports that an unprecedented rise in atmospheric pressure from the great desert is responsible for the heat wave that has caused such havoc in Tunisia, according to Tunisia-Live.

Temperatures of 42-47°C have been recorded in the past week, reports engineer Sahar Shickhawi.

“All the temperature data that we gather are from shaded areas, but sunny areas are normally 4-7 °C hotter, so we must account for that. In the summer, we are used to the temperature being in between 32-36 °C in the coastal areas and 38 to 42 °C the interior regions in the month of July,” Shickhawi explained.

Although energy shortages have rarely lasted for more than two hours, according to SONEDE employee Mohamed Sadoke, which pales in comparison to 12 hour energy shortages in Lebanon, Gabes residents preparing for the Ramadan fast are concerned.

Energy and Water Shortages Become “Complicated”

One housewife told Tunisia-Live that the situation is becoming more “complicated.”

But for hospital workers and patients, the shortages are more than complicated. Men and women with broken legs haven’t received treatment at the Regional Hospital of Gabes since the X-Ray machines can’t function without electricity. And Hospital Tahr Sfar atop a mountain on the coast was without water for nearly a week.

In order to alleviate supply disruptions to Gabes residents, SONEDE has cut off water supply to the local chemical manufacturing plant which has historically used more than its fair share of both water and electricity.

“We cut the water supply on the chemical complex because we have to prioritize,” said Mbarak Haddad, the switch board operator of Gabes SONEDE.

In Gabes, people are more important than chemicals.

More on the Region’s Heat Wave:

Safari Animals Get Blood, Fruit and Fish Popsicles to Cool Off

The Wrath of Global Warming and the Middle East

Israeli Environment Minister Proposes Cuts to Gaza Electricity to Bridge Energy Shortfalls

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