The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has experienced severe climate outcomes due to rising global temperatures over the last decade. This was accentuated most recently when the region experienced record-breaking summer temperatures in multiple cities, one of the worst regional droughts on record, 

and an amplified tropical cyclone season that led to a historically devastating cyclone making landfall in the Arabian Peninsula; all within the last year. In terms of extreme events, MENA is acutely vulnerable to droughts, wildfires, extreme heat, sea level rise, and extreme weather events; like tropical cyclones and short-duration intense thunderstorms that trigger massive flooding. When it comes to this wide spectrum of potential extreme events, how prepared is the region to dealing with these climate outcomes? And what can the region do to be better equipped to handle these extreme events as they occur with greater intensity, duration, and frequency?

Speakers:

Ruba Ajjour
Manager of Climate Change Studies Division, Royal Scientific Society, Amman
 
Mohammed Al-Shaker
Meteorologist, Founder, and CEO of ArabiaWeather Inc.
 
Aysha Alsuwaidi
U.A.E. Ministry of Presidential Affairs

Mohammed Mahmoud, moderator
Climate and Water Program Director, Middle East Institute