Improve the economy: The world’s Gulf countries have many big plans for the future. This includes attracting tourists and investors, hosting major sporting events, building new cities and freeing the economy from oil dependence. However, a crisis is looming that no country can escape so easily. Climate change will put all countries at risk of severe and sometimes deadly heatwaves in the coming decades.
Heat waves increase energy demand, destroy infrastructure and endanger workers. Apart from this, outdoor activities can also be affected. Experts say that all this can pose a threat to the future ambitions of the Gulf countries. Aisha Al Salehi, an Omani researcher at the Middle East Institute of the National University of Singapore, said that people want to grow up quickly since childhood, but they do not think about the future effects of climate change. Continuing to expand under these circumstances means that we need more energy, more water and more electricity, especially for cooling, all of which have their limitations. In this context, we consider the limits that exist today.
The danger of a heat wave in the Persian Gulf was highlighted this week when Saudi Arabia announced that more than 1,300 people, including at least 11 Americans, had died during this year’s Hajj. Saudi officials say most of those who died were traveling without permission and therefore did not have access to equipment to protect themselves from the heat. The deaths raise questions about Saudi Arabia’s handling of the event that drew more than 1.8 million Muslims to the holy city of Mecca.
