The Middle East is heating at nearly twice the global average, a new climate study found adding that there was an average increase of 0.45 degrees Celsius per decade across the Middle East, during which the global average rise was 0.27 degrees per decade.
If immediate steps are not taken, the region could heat up by almost five degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
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This could exceed "critical thresholds for human adaptability" in the Middle East countries, the report warned as more than 400 million people in the region could face extreme heatwaves, droughts and even sea level rises.
According to the report, "virtually all" areas of life will be "critically affected" by hotter, dryer climate conditions. This could increase mortality rates and exacerbate "inequalities between the more affluent and impoverished populations" of the region, the report noted.
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Middle East as a major contributor to global warming
{{/usCountry}}Middle East as a major contributor to global warming
{{/usCountry}}The Middle East has also become a major contributor to global warming as the oil-rich region is on course to become one of the world's leading sources of greenhouse gas emissions, overtaking the European Union.
The report was released ahead of the United Nations' COP27 climate summit in Egypt.