Emperor penguin populations falling ‘faster than we thought': researchers
'We've got this really depressing picture of climate change and falling populations even faster than we thought, but it's not too late,' said Peter Fretwell, of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), who led the study monitoring sixteen colonies, representing nearly a third of the global emperor penguin population.
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Arab News
18-07-2025
- Arab News
How rising temperatures may be linked to cancer cases and deaths among women in Middle East and North Africa
LONDON: Researchers at the American University in Cairo have identified a disturbing link between rising temperatures and increases in cases of breast, cervical, ovarian and uterine cancers among women in the Middle East and North Africa region. The key message of a study that has identified 'a significant correlation between prolonged exposure to high ambient temperatures and all four cancer types' is as simple as it is urgent, said Wafa Abu El-Kheir-Mataria, senior researcher at the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology at the American University in Cairo. 'Our findings make it clear that climate change is not a distant or abstract threat. It is already impacting women's health in tangible ways,' said Dr. Kheir-Mataria, co-author with Prof. Sungsoo Chun, associate director of the institute, of a new paper published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health. 'In the MENA region, rising temperatures are significantly correlated with increased prevalence and mortality of several cancers affecting women.' She added: 'This evidence highlights the urgent need to integrate climate risks into cancer control strategies today, not tomorrow.' The study looked at 17 countries in the MENA region and examined how increasing average temperatures coincided with how often women were getting certain cancers and dying from them. The connection between rising temperatures and increasing cases of the four types of cancer was found to be significant in just six countries — Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Syria and Jordan. The finding that the four wealthy Gulf states featured significantly was a 'very important observation,' said Dr. Kheir-Mataria, and one that merits urgent further investigation. 'The Gulf countries have some of the strongest healthcare systems in the region,' she said. 'However, what our findings may reflect is that even high-performing systems are now facing new, complex challenges brought about by climate change — challenges that may not yet be fully addressed within traditional cancer control strategies.' • Breast, ovarian, uterine and cervical cancers are rising in parts of MENA as temperatures increase year on year. • Even Gulf countries with strong health systems show above-average increases in cancer deaths linked to climate stress. • Researchers say a 4 C rise by 2050 could amplify health risks, but more local studies are urgently needed. The Gulf states, she added, 'are also among those experiencing the most extreme and rapid increases in temperature, which can amplify environmental exposures that are not always visible or easily managed, such as air pollution or heat-related physiological stress.' At the same time, 'social and behavioral factors, like health-seeking behaviors or cultural barriers to early screening, may continue to influence outcomes despite strong system capacity.' Dr Kheir-Mataria wants 'more in-depth, country-specific research in countries such as Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Our study is an important starting point, but it has clear limitations. We worked with publicly available data and focused primarily on the relationship between temperature and cancer outcomes, while controlling for income. 'However, many other important factors such as air pollution levels, urban heat islands, occupational exposure, genetic predispositions, and healthcare utilization patterns were beyond the scope of this analysis.' To fully understand all the factors at play, 'we need access to more granular data and the opportunity to examine these additional variables in context. 'That's why we are actively seeking local partnerships with research institutions, ministries of health, and environmental agencies and funding to support collaborative studies.' The Gulf states, she said, 'are uniquely positioned to lead the way in advancing global understanding of climate-related health risks, and we would be honored to work together to generate evidence that informs national policy and protects women's health in the face of climate change.' Meanwhile, it is necessary to 'acknowledge that environmental stressors such as rising temperatures and air pollution can exacerbate cancer risks, particularly for vulnerable groups such as women, and incorporate climate change adaptation into cancer control plans.' Adaptation strategies 'might include strengthening early detection and screening services in high-risk areas, ensuring healthcare facilities remain accessible during climate-related disruptions, and integrating environmental risk monitoring into public health planning.' Dr Kheir-Mataria said this 'involves cross-sectoral collaboration between health, environmental, and planning ministries to build climate resilient healthcare systems.' The study combined two decades of data from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation's Global Burden of Disease with statistics on temperature change from the FAOSTAT Climate Change database of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, for every year from 1998 to 2019. Applying a method of statistical analysis called multiple linear regression, which adjusted results to take account of socioeconomic differences between countries that might influence health outcomes, the researchers were able to identify 'a clear pattern: where temperatures rose, cancer rates and deaths often rose too.' This was expressed in the percentage increase in cases and deaths for each degree Celcius the temperature rose. For example, the largest increase in deaths was found in ovarian cancer, with an overall average increase across the 17 countries of 0.33 percentage points per degree. But increased numbers of deaths from ovarian cancer were higher than average in Jordan and the UAE (both 0.48). Although the overall increase in deaths from cervical cancer was the lowest of the four diseases (0.171), the increase was higher than average in Iran (0.3), Jordan (0.45), and Qatar (0.61). In Saudi Arabia, significant increases in cases were detected in ovarian (0.29) and uterine (0.36) cancers. An above-average increase in deaths in the Kingdom was found in breast cancer (0.31). The paper points out that, with a temperature rise of 4 C expected by 2050, 'the MENA region is particularly at risk due to global warming.' In 2019, 175,707 women in the region died from cancer. But, Dr Kheir-Mataria said, it was not possible to simply multiply the study's findings by four to predict the number of additional cancer deaths by 2050 related to rising temperatures. 'This is a question we fully understand the interest in, but we must be very careful not to overstate what our data can tell us,' she said. 'Our study found a statistical association between rising temperatures and cancer deaths among women. However, these are correlations, not predictions, and they were based on historical data over a specific period, with many other contributing factors. 'Projecting the number of additional deaths by 2050 based on a hypothetical 4 C rise would go beyond what our data allows, as it would require complex modelling that includes population growth, healthcare system changes, adaptation measures, and other environmental or behavioral variables. 'We did not conduct such a projection in this study, and doing so responsibly would require a separate research design.' She added: 'That said, the potential implications of a 4 C increase are certainly concerning, particularly in countries already experiencing extreme heat. 'This is why we strongly advocate for further research, including dynamic modelling and country-level analyses, to understand and prepare for the possible long-term health impacts of climate change, especially on women.'
Arab News
18-07-2025
- Arab News
Saudi initiatives are the most sound options for confronting challenges of climate change
Specialists have indicated that temperatures across the Gulf region, including Saudi Arabia, may rise by as much as 9 C by the year 2100. Hot zones have already been recorded above the Saudi capital, and projections suggest that extreme heat days in Riyadh will increase to 132 days a year by 2040. A study published this year found that between May 2024 and May 2025 the world experienced 67 severe heatwaves, attributed to the excessive use of conventional fuels. Furthermore, 49 percent of the global population endured at least 30 additional days of high temperatures. March of this year marked the 20th month out of the past 21 in which the average high temperatures exceeded the 1.5 C threshold. This specific limit was established at the 2015 Paris Summit, resulting in an agreement signed by 196 nations, though only a few have adhered to it. Should this limited commitment persist, the situation could reach a critical stage. More concerning is that the air we breathe today is contaminated with radiation, a legacy of nuclear detonations carried out by the US in Japan during the Second World War, as well as tests conducted by several other countries. These countries conducted a total in excess of of 2,000 nuclear tests underground, in the atmosphere, and deep in the oceans over a span of 53 years (from 1945 to 1998). In 2018, The Straits Times, a Singaporean newspaper, reported on the theft of debris from 48 naval ships that sank off the coast of Singapore following the Second World War. It was discovered that these ships were made of non-radioactive steel, predating the use of nuclear technology. The thieves sold the material to Chinese companies for use in the manufacture of precision scientific and medical devices, which cannot be produced with radioactive steel due to its danger to humans. This suggests that even the industrial revolution itself has not been spared. Study found world experienced 67 severe heatwaves in a year Alf Hornborg, professor of human ecology at Lund University in Sweden, has published some important words regarding climate crises, and states that there is misleading information within the subject. He said that in order for Europeans to drive environmentally friendly cars, they shift the environmental and ethical burden resulting from this by pressuring countries like Brazil to cultivate crops from which ethanol is extracted. They then hold these countries responsible for their non-compliant actions, when in reality they were the ones who incited them. What is important, in their view, is to preserve their own environment from pollution. I believe this illustrates a strange opportunism and narcissism from the Northern Hemisphere countries, especially European nations and the US, against the non-industrialized countries of the South. The major industrialized nations, as evidenced by international reports, are responsible for the largest part of the problem. The proof is that from 1850 to 2021, about 2,500 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide were pumped into the atmosphere, according to a report from the investigative website Carbon Brief, which specializes in monitoring climate change. Three countries, the US, China, and Russia, were behind 38 percent of the aforementioned emissions, with 20 percent for the first, 11 percent for the second, and 7 percent for the third. The preceding statistics concern manufacturing emissions and do not include wars and their environmental impacts. Strikingly, the average temperature in 2021 was double that of 1821. This occurred within 200 years, a very short period in the Earth's age, in which climate changes are typically measured in millennia. A report published by the World Meteorological Organization noted that the average number of environmental disasters has reached one per day over the last 50 years, or about 365 disasters annually. Incidents such as hurricanes, droughts, and fires kill an average of 115 people daily. A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change at the UN provided clear and undeniable evidence that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in 2019 was the highest in 2 million years. Spanish physicist Jose Maria Martin said in 2024 that during heatwaves in which temperatures in Europe reach 45 C, the mortality rate is expected to increase by up to 40 percent. The current rate in the increase of temperatures will lead to rising sea and ocean levels, resulting in various disasters, as well as desertification, drought, shrinking rivers, contraction of the Amazon forests (dubbed the lungs of the world), and melting ice. Sea ice volume has already receded to its lowest level in 47 years. The imperative is simply to maintain the status quo, as the possibility of reducing temperatures is completely ruled out. I believe that Saudi Arabia's initiatives, along with its plans for carbon neutrality and the use of clean energy, are globally the most sound options for confronting the complex challenges of climate change. • Dr. Bader bin Saud is a columnist for Al-Riyadh newspaper, a media and knowledge management researcher, an expert and university professor in crowd management and strategic planning, and the former deputy commander of the special forces for Hajj and Umrah in Saudi Arabia. X: @BaderbinSaud.
Arab News
18-07-2025
- Arab News
From Antarctica to Brussels, hunting climate clues in old ice
BRUSSELS: In a small, refrigerated room at a Brussels university, parka-wearing scientists chop up Antarctic ice cores tens of thousands of years old in search of clues to our planet's changing climate. Trapped inside the cylindrical icicles are tiny air bubbles that can provide a snapshot of what the earth's atmosphere looked like back then. 'We want to know a lot about the climates of the past because we can use it as an analogy for what can happen in the future,' said Harry Zekollari, a glaciologist at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). Zekollari was part of a team of four that headed to the white continent in November on a mission to find some of the world's oldest ice — without breaking the bank. Ice dating back millions of years can be found deep inside Antarctica, close to the South Pole, buried under kilometers of fresher ice and snow. But that's hard to reach and expeditions to drill it out are expensive. A recent EU-funded mission that brought back some 1.2-million-year-old samples came with a total price tag of around 11 million euros (around $12.8 million). To cut costs, the team from VUB and the nearby Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) used satellite data and other clues to find areas where ancient ice might be more accessible. Just like the water it is made of, ice flows toward the coast — albeit slowly, explained Maaike Izeboud, a remote sensing specialist at VUB. And when the flow hits an obstacle, say a ridge or mountain, bottom layers can be pushed up closer to the surface. In a few rare spots, weather conditions like heavy winds prevent the formation of snow cover — leaving thick layers of ice exposed. Named after their coloration, which contrasts with the whiteness of the rest of the continent, these account for only about one percent of Antarctica territory. 'Blue ice areas are very special,' said Izeboud. Her team zeroed in on a blue ice stretch lying about 2,300 meters (7,500 feet) above sea level, around 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Belgium's Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Research Station. Some old meteorites had been previously found there — a hint that the surrounding ice is also old, the researchers explained. A container camp was set up and after a few weeks of measurements, drilling, and frozen meals, in January the team came back with 15 ice cores totalling about 60 meters in length. These were then shipped from South Africa to Belgium, where they arrived in late June. Inside a stocky cement ULB building in the Belgian capital, they are now being cut into smaller pieces to then be shipped to specialized labs in France and China for dating. Zekollari said the team hopes some of the samples, which were taken at shallow depths of about 10 meters, will be confirmed to be about 100,000 years old. This would allow them to go back and dig a few hundred meters deeper in the same spot for the big prize. 'It's like a treasure hunt,' Zekollari, 36, said, comparing their work to drawing a map for 'Indiana Jones.' 'We're trying to cross the good spot on the map... and in one and a half years, we'll go back and we'll drill there,' he said. 'We're dreaming a bit, but we hope to get maybe three, four, five-million-year-old ice.' Such ice could provide crucial input to climatologists studying the effects of global warming. Climate projections and models are calibrated using existing data on past temperatures and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere — but the puzzle has some missing pieces. By the end of the century temperatures could reach levels similar to those the planet last experienced between 2.6 and 3.3 million years ago, said Etienne Legrain, 29, a paleo-climatologist at ULB. But currently there is little data on what CO2 levels were back then — a key metric to understand how much further warming we could expect. 'We don't know the link between CO2 concentration and temperature in a climate warmer than that of today,' Legrain said. His team hopes to find it trapped inside some very old ice. 'The air bubbles are the atmosphere of the past,' he said. 'It's really like magic when you feel it.'
