EGYPT: Global warming, desert storms
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Global warming and rising sea levels in coming decades may have devastating effects on Egypt’s Nile Delta, including the historical and storied cities of Alexandria, Rosetta and Port Said. In an essay in Al-Ahram Weekly, Mohamed El Raey, a professor of environmental studies, predicted that climate change may lead to ‘an increase in the frequency and severity of sandstorms, and longer periods of drought followed by more intense flooding. This is expected to lead to public health problems, including the spread of epidemics, especially in poorer regions.’
Nearly half of Egyptians live on less than $2 a day. Millions have moved from desert and rural regions to the cities, where birthrates and unemployment are high. Environmental pressures, such as global warming, could worsen already precarious livelihoods. In Alexandria, for example, El Raey writes, a rise in sea levels of 50 centimeters would, if no protection work is undertaken, ‘lead to the loss of a number of tourist beaches and flooding of some agricultural and industrial areas.’
He continues: ‘About 194,000 future jobs will be lost. . .and about 1.5 million persons will be displaced.’
— Jeffrey Fleishman in Cairo
