Health impacts of global climate change in the Middle East: vulnerabilities

Abstract

Middle East is among the mostly affected areas of the world by climate change, and by the end of this century, this region is expected to have an increased mean temperature about 3–5 °C. Heat waves cause significant mortality and morbidity, whereas hotter and drier climates lead to wildland fire seasons, impairing air quality. Land degradation and desertification are promoting dust pollution and impairing food production. An association between increased risk for death, hospital admissions and emergency room visits due to respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD, and desert dust storms and increased daily temperatures in the Middle East has been reported. Climate change may also affect the emergence and spread of viral infections including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-related Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) through deterioriation in the environment and ecosystem. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.