https://arab.news/cs7hm
According to the UN and the World Meteorological Organization, 2025 is projected to be one of the hottest years in human history. This is because average global temperatures continue to rise at an unprecedented pace. This increase is felt particularly acutely in the Middle East, a region that has contributed minimally to global emissions yet bears a disproportionate share of the climate burden.
Ahead of the crucial COP30 climate summit in Belem, Brazil, which opened this week, it was reported that, over the first eight months of this year, global mean surface temperatures averaged about 1.4 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. This is not only one of the highest temperatures in recorded history, but it also means that the world is getting dangerously close to surpassing the 1.5 C limit set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement. If this trend continues, we will most likely reach 2.3 C to 2.5 C of warming this century.
The implications of such a significant rise would be catastrophic, particularly for already-arid and heat-stressed regions such as the Middle East. As a result, COP30 should not just be about states restating commitments, but about making structural transformations when it comes to climate change.
