In the coming days, 7 Arab countries are predicted to experience an unparalleled surge in temperatures, sometimes reaching up to 50 degrees Celsius. The alert comes in sync with United Nations’ warnings that the globe as a whole is beginning to record its highest observed temperatures in history.
Preliminary data released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a UN agency, on Monday revealed that the first week of July has been the hottest week of the year so far. According to the Arab Weather platform, weather maps indicate that the heatwave is expected to affect Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine, starting from the end of this week.
What is a Heat Dome?
Environmental expert and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) member, Ayman Qadouri, clarifies to Sky News Arabia what the heat dome is and how it creates its effect these days:
• It’s a recurring phenomenon in this summer, previously observed in the United States about a month ago.
• The Heat Dome is an isolated atmospheric region created by high-pressure areas in the upper atmosphere (stratosphere), due to relatively lower temperatures compared to the lower atmosphere layers (troposphere), which have higher temperatures.
• As a mass of hot air accumulates below the high-pressure area in the upper layers of the same region, the high pressure pushes the hot air down, compressing it and making it even hotter.
• When the hot air tries to rise, the high pressure above it forces it downwards, further increasing the air temperature at the bottom layer of the atmosphere by approximately 5 to 10 degrees.
• The Heat Dome can last from two to seven days and sometimes even longer.
• The Heat Dome’s effect in a region disappears once any factor contributing to its formation is lost, for instance, if the pressure drops in the stratosphere layer of the atmosphere.
• Therefore, it’s a phenomenon that doesn’t move from one region to another, and its formation is not limited to certain areas. It can occur in any region on the Earth’s surface, provided the conditions are met.
• Current weather data indicating high pressure and high temperatures suggest that a heat dome is being generated.
The World Meteorological Organization continues to issue warnings about the impact of climate change and industrial human activities. On Monday, it stated that temperatures are about to surpass record levels on land and in oceans, with “potentially devastating effects on environmental systems”.
Christoph Hewitt, Director of Climate Services at the organization, said: “We are in uncharted territory, and we can expect more record levels to be surpassed as the El Nino phenomenon evolves. These impacts will extend until 2024. This is disturbing news for the world.”
The organization also pointed out that their data showed that the first week of July has been the hottest week ever this year, a finding corroborated by Europe’s Copernicus Climate Monitoring Service.
Previously, the WMO warned that the world will witness record high temperatures throughout history over the five years from 2023 to 2027, noting that carbon dioxide has reached new high levels, which enhances the global warming phenomenon. The only way to mitigate this would be a transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.
