By Sara Mehryar and Mohammad Alsahli
The Middle East is heating almost twice the global average, with countries of the Arabian Peninsula that experience temperature increases or 3–4 ° C almost three decades before much of the world. This rapid increase is no longer a distant threat, it is already developing. In 2016, Kuwait registered an amazing 54 ° C (129 ° F), one of the highest temperatures ever documented worldwide. These extreme thermal waves are intense cooling demands, placing a tension in water resources, tearing dust storms and threatening public health.
At the same time, climate change is contributing to a more intense rain that, combined with socio -economic and management challenges, is leading to increasingly frequent flash flash and of which they are not preceded. In arid countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, heavy non -seasonal rains have surpassed drainage systems, causing sudden destructive floods in cities such as Jeddah, Riad, Dubai, and Kuwait city. These countries have not been demonstrated for the growing magnitude of such events.
Therefore, Kuwait, many of its neighbors, is becoming increasingly exposed and vulnerable to the stage of multiple jumps, where different climatic hazards, such as extreme heat and floods, can occur in rapid succession.
Change from reagent to proactive
Kuwait’s current disaster management system is largely reactive. After the devastating sudden floods of 2018, public speech blamed largely a poor drainage infrastructure. As a result, the government’s response focused on cleaning and maintaining important steps of drainage systems, but not enough to address root causes or reduce long -term risk.
The main coordination of the response to floods in Kuwait, the flood committee, which includes representatives of several government agencies, such as the municipality, the Ministry of Public Works, the civil defense of the Ministry and others, ISSESOES is established. Its role is largely limited to the short -term emergency response. However, effective risk management must go beyond this, incorporating long -term planning, integrated governance and proactive measures that address climatic risks before disasters occur.
Coordination, Policy and Planning Challenges
The key informant interviews conducted as part of our research at Kuwait identified that the roles and responsibilities to address extreme heat are not clearly defined. There are no governance groups with specific response to handle the risk of extreme heat or develop comprehensive plans to address it; Instead, the problem is handled on an ad hoc base. For example, the Ministry of Public Works has issued a policy to reduce the work hours of outdoor workers during the heat season. While the Kuwait National Adaptation Plan (NAP) 2019–2030 recognizes the black impacts on water and marine ecosystems, the devices will not be comprehensive strategies or that the effects of extreme heat on society are found.
There is an urgent need to implement an effective governance and planning of heat, particularly within the urban and construction planning sectors. Kuwait’s main responses to extreme heat are limited to a great dependence on the air conditioning and the use of energy intensive social to meet water demand. These solutions, although effective in the short term, are insufficient on their own and are not compatible with efforts to reduce greenhouse and emissions.
The current urban planning policy is also leading to unintended consequences. Our analysis shows that recently urban planning decisions, positionally, those that support Kuwait’s low economic restructuring, have involuntarily increased flood risk. Kuwait’s 2035 vision aims to diversify its economy by investing strongly in the construction sector, becoming a financial center for the north of the Gulf. This is aligned with the global decarbonization objectives under the Paris Agreement. However, these economic changes are promoting the rapid growth of the population, largely through labor immigration, and many new development projects are emerging in flood -prone areas. Without adequate spatial planning, this can significantly increase exposure to floods and extreme heat, especially among vulnerable and non -city populations. Urban planning and broader economic policy must support climate-based decision making, ensuring that the urban development that is designed to contribute to Kuwait’s low carbon economic restructuring does not lead to Inc-Risk.
Implement comprehensive adaptation strategies for multi-hazards and develop LED resilience locally
To address the interconnected nature of climatic risks, including those that affect urban planning, Kuwait must adopt an integral and prospective adaptation strategy. This means going beyond isolated solutions in the short term and adopting a multisectoral multisectoral approach for ‘resilience’. A holistic risk assessment (voltage sectors such as health, water, energy and communications) is essential to identify critical vulnerabilities and design integrated adaptation strategies that address the double risk of composite events.
Resilience is framed in relation to specific hazards, such as floods or thermal waves, but it is increasing OMED-BEN-BEN-BEN-BENits-Benits-Benit-Benits-Benits-Ben-Ben-Ben-Ben-Ben-Ben-Ben-Ben-Ben-Ben-Ben-Ben-Ben-Benits-Benits was not designed in that way. A collaboration in government departments and sectors is needed to identify co-benefits and prevent unintended consequences.
Zurich’s climate resilience alliance provides a tested frame and tool to evaluate community resilience to climatic risks such as floods and heat waves. This framework distinguishes between:
- General sources of resilience, such as access to medical care, knowledge of first aid and the continuity of transport, which strengthen resilience in multiple risks, and
- Specific risk resilience, such as flood protection infrastructure or heat preparation plans, which are directed to partial threats.
The tool is currently being implemented with local communities in Kuwait City, and the results will be used to prioritize the adaptation actions that local vulnerabilities, existing capabilities and possible leverage points for the impact on multiple hazards consider. This approach helps idelify the actions offered by the greatest co-benefits while minimizing the unintended consequences. These locally informed adaptation measures must be implemented together with strong national and local policies that address the common fundamental causes of climatic risks, such as poor planning of land use and social inequality in Kuwait.
In general, Kuwait must go from reactive responses to isolated hazards towards a proactive and multiple jumps that integrates urban and spatial planning, inclusive governance, community -led resilience, support aimed at vulnerable groups. It is also essential to emphasize the need for a holistic evaluation and multiple jumps and planning for information and national decision -making decisions.
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