Egypt is experiencing an alarming increase in temperature, with the Egyptian Meteorological Authority warning of a more brutal summer this year. Aswan, a popular touristic destination in Egypt, made history with a record-breaking temperature on June 6, 2024, reaching 49.6°C.
On June 7, Aswan saw its hottest temperature on record, reaching 50.9°C in the shade, according to The Guardian. The previous all-time highest temperature in the country was 50.3°C in 1961. These alarming records emphasize the urgent need for action to combat climate change and meet the 1.5°C target.
Egypt's diverse landscape, from the fertile Nile Valley to the arid deserts, is significantly impacted by climate change.
Egypt's Climate Overview
Egypt essentially has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh). The climate is generally extremely dry all over the country except on the northern Mediterranean coast, which receives rainfall in winter.
The cold prevailing northwesterly wind from Greece continuously blows over the northern coast without the interposition of an eventual mountain range and thus, greatly moderates temperatures throughout the year. Average low temperatures vary from 15 °C (59 °F) in wintertime to 27-35 °C (80.6-95.0 °F) in summertime because of this effect. Average high temperatures vary from 22-25 °C (71.6-77.0 °F) in wintertime to 46 °C (114.8 °F) in summertime.
Read also: Egyptian Adventure
Though temperatures are moderated along the coasts, the situation changes in the interior, which is away from the moderating northerly winds. Thus, in the central and the southern parts, daytime temperatures are very hot, especially in summers when average high temperatures can exceed 41 °C (106 °F), as in Aswan and Luxor, which are located in the deserts of Egypt.
Although the mild weather in the winter days the temperature decreases to be very cold at nighttime and early mornings, sometimes freezing, especially in the interior lands of Upper Egypt, the desert regions has freezing nights.
Every year, sometime from March to June, an extremely hot, dry and dusty wind blows from the south or the southwest. This wind is called khamasīn. When the flow of dry air continuously blows over vast desert regions, it picks up fine sand and dust particles and finally results in a dusty wind which is generally felt in the periphery of the desert. When this wind blows over Egypt, it causes high temperatures to soar temporarily at dangerous levels, usually over 49-50 °C (120-122 °F), the relative humidity levels to drop under 5%.
Egypt receives between 20 mm (0.79 in) and 200 mm (7.87 in) of annual average precipitation along the narrow Mediterranean coast, but south from Cairo, the average drops to nearly 0 millimetres (0.00 inches) in the central and the southern part of the country. The cloudiest, rainiest places are in and around Alexandria and Rafah.
Some mountainous locations in Sinai, such as Saint Catherine, have cooler night temperatures, due to their high elevations. It rarely snows in the Sinai mountains, but it almost never snows in the cities of Giza, Cairo, and Alexandria.
Read also: Learn Arabic in Egypt: Guide
Egypt reeling under effects of climate change
The Global Context of Rising Temperatures
Egypt now claims four spots among the 15 hottest places globally, shedding light on the stark reality of global warming. It's a clear and dangerous message from Aswan that the climate change is real.
These alarming records emphasize the urgent need for action to combat climate change and meet the 1.5°C target. I've come across fascinating temperature records in Egypt and Kuwait, highlighting the increasing heat in these regions. Egypt recently hit a record of 50.9 degrees in Aswan, while some areas in Kuwait surpassed 60 degrees this summer.
This raises an important question: How will climate change reshape businesses in hot areas? Should we start preparing to accommodate these changes?
Extreme Weather Records
The list of weather records includes the most extreme occurrences of weather phenomena for various categories. Many weather records are measured under specific conditions-such as surface temperature and wind speed-to keep consistency among measurements around the Earth.
Each of these records is understood to be the record value officially observed, as these records may have been exceeded before modern weather instrumentation was invented, or in remote areas without an official weather station.
Read also: Clothing in Ancient Egypt
Satellite measurements of ground temperature taken between 2003 and 2009, taken with the MODIS infrared spectroradiometer on the Aqua satellite, found a maximum temperature of 70.7 °C (159.3 °F), which was recorded in 2005 in the Lut Desert, Iran. The Lut Desert was also found to have the highest maximum temperature in five of the seven years measured (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009).
Satellite measurements of the surface temperature of Antarctica, taken between 1982 and 2013, found a coldest temperature of −93.2 °C (−135.8 °F) on 10 August 2010, at 81°48′S 59°18′E
| City | Average Low Temperature in Winter (°C) | Average High Temperature in Summer (°C) | Annual Average Precipitation (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandria | 13 | 32 | 200 |
| Cairo | 14 | 40 | Nearly 0 |
| Aswan | 14 | 41+ | Nearly 0 |
A world map showing areas with Köppen B classification (dry climates).
Popular articles:
tags: #Egypt
