The Climate Edit | The National

Recently I attended a public screening of a film called the People’s Emergency Briefing, which details the myriad effects that climate change is having or is forecast to have.

These impacts will, scientists, doctors, campaigners and even military officers say in the film, harm health, damage nature, lead to more extreme weather, reduce crop yields and cause geopolitical instability that could result in more conflicts.

The film emerged from an event last year, the National Emergency Briefing, in which experts outlined the various ways in which climate change is impacting society.

As that gathering was held in Westminster in London with a view to informing British parliamentarians about climate change, the film has a UK focus.

But, of course, many of the potential impacts it details are mirrored worldwide, including in the Gulf region, whether they be possible increases in the severity of rainfall, harm to health from higher temperatures, or the threat of sea-level rises.

If average temperatures rise to 4°C above pre-industrial levels, something that some scientists say could happen as soon as the 2060s, the consequences would be significant, especially for people who live in homes without air conditioning.

Extreme weather events like those that caused flooding in the UAE in April 2024 would become more frequent, large areas of the planet would no longer be suitable for agriculture, there would be large-scale extinctions of species and many glaciers would disappear.

As a wealthier nation, the UAE is better placed than most to deal with the consequences of climate change, and senior officials are taking the issue seriously.

For this eye-opening article, John Dennehy spoke to the National Centre of Meteorology’s director general, Dr Abdulla Al Mandous, who was recently given the rank of minister.

Among much else, Dr Al Mandous highlights how national resilience is a key priority, and how artificial intelligence is providing better forecasts of the kind needed to cope with extreme weather.

Camels grazing in the Al Ghiyathi desert area in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

As the summer months approach, the mercury is rising, with meteorologists having forecast that temperatures in the UAE would climb above 40 °C this week, as detailed in this article.

But for the camel-grazing season, just as important as the rising temperatures have been recent rains and the vegetation growth that resulted.

As detailed in this feature by Alexander Christou, the abundant vegetation means that the camel-grazing season in Abu Dhabi emirate began on April 22 this year, several weeks ahead of when it typically starts.

The article, which offers a fascinating insight into traditional Bedouin life, is accompanied by some terrific pictures by Victor Besa showing camels in their desert element and the people who look after them.

Fishermen in the Hawizeh Marshes in southern Iraq, after rainfall following a long drought. AFP

Staying on the theme of water bringing revival, the Hawizeh Marshes in south-eastern Iraq have come back to life thanks to heavy rainfall in March and April.

This article by Clotilde Bigot and Sinan Mahmoud outlines how boats can now glide across the waters in the marshes, which are associated with the biblical Garden of Eden and were among the regions immortalised in the book The Marsh Arabs by the explorer Wilfred Thesiger.

Reduced rainfall, blamed on climate change, and the damming of rivers had caused the marshes to dry up and forced residents to move away.

The revival is a fragile one, so while conditions look favourable currently, residents have a key question on their minds: how long before the marshes dry up again?

If global temperatures rise by an average of 4°C, wheat and maize yields in low latitudes are expected to fall by 40 per cent, according to a document published by Leeds University in the UK.

Greenwashing: describing something as being environmentally friendly when it actually is not. This may include taking certain actions that appear to be beneficial to the environment while continuing, often behind the scenes, with practices that are not. An example cited by the charity the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is describing a product as recyclable when it can only be recycled under very specific circumstances.

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