Taking a bus at Maliya station in Kuwait City in summer can be overwhelming.
About two-thirds of the city’s buses pass through the hub, with unreliable schedules. Smoke from the spate of traffic filled the air. Small shelters provide shelter for a small number of people if they are crowded. Dozens of people ended up standing in the sun, sometimes using umbrellas to protect themselves.
Global warming is smashing temperature records all over the world, but Kuwait – one of the hottest countries on the planet – is fast becoming unlivable. In 2016, thermometers hit 54C, the highest reading on Earth in the last 76 years. Last year, for the first time, they breached 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in June, weeks ahead of usual peak weather. Parts of Kuwait could get as much as 4.5C hotter from 2071 to 2100 compared with the historical average, according to the Environment Public Authority, making large areas of the country uninhabitable.
For wildlife, it’s pretty much the same. During the harsh summer months, dead birds appear on roofs with no shade or source of water. Veterinarians are inundated with stray cats brought in by people who find them dying from heatstroke and dehydration. Even wild foxes have abandoned deserts that no longer bloom after rain, leaving small patches of green in cities, where they are seen as pests.
“That’s why we’re seeing fewer and fewer wild animals in Kuwait, because most of them don’t make it through the season,” said Tamara Kabazadeh, a veterinarian at Kuwait Zoo and Wildlife. “Last year, we had 3 to 4 days at the end of July that were very humid and very hot, it was hard to even get outside, and there was no wind. A lot of animals started to have respiratory problems.”
Unlike countries like Bangladesh and Brazil, which struggle to balance environmental challenges, large populations and widespread poverty, Kuwait is OPEC’s fourth-largest oil exporter. Home to the world’s third-largest sovereign wealth fund, with a population of just over 4.5 million, it’s not a lack of resources but political inaction that is holding back reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to a warming planet.
Complete News Source : NDTV
