Environmental, social and political dimensions of climate change in North Africa

What are major concerns / impacts expected to occur in North Africa?

the main concerns include:

*Drought

*Water shortage

*Oil Market production 

This water water shortage is due to the dry land shown below which is the type of drought North Africa is faced with. Because of climate change, the already extremely hot North African climate is slowly becoming even hotter. This is very dangerous because eventually over time this could led to no water in many parts of this land. As you can see some places have little to no water scarcity, but North Africa clearly has a lot. 

For this country, water is already a problem. Climate change makes droughts leading to water scarcity more common. This is a huge problem because it changes agricultural production, causes grain shortages, and increases food insecurity. The biggest issue with this problem is that is ultimately causes famine and loss of human life. 

Not only does this cause damage for the well being of society, it also harms the economy. It affects the economic development and discourages investments within the agricultural industry. 

Although this water shortage is a huge problem for the citizens of North Africa, there are also many problems tied into the economical side of this region. Loss of oil is decreasing the production coming out of North Africa.

Oil has dropped 50% since 2014. This is a huge issue for the world we live in because many depend on it, but also for the industries making profit off of it. The oil prices are fluctuating in the earlier years this is because the dependence on oil makes these economies vulnerable to fluctuations in oil prices. Currently, the price for oil is 'normal.' This is not good for businesses because these low/normal prices will result in shrinking finical outcomes.  

Climate & Geological History

North Africa: Current Climate

As I talked about in the last section, North Africa has 7 countries and territories. Here is the current climate for each one listed below: 

Algeria: In this region, the temperatures are mostly warm, but can be diverse in different areas. During the day in desert areas all year around it can be hot. In those places the temperature can get up to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. The hottest recorded temperature is 123.1 degrees Fahrenheit  In some areas such Tell Atlas there is a lot of rainfall. In others, there are sand dunes in between mountains.

Egypt: In this area the climate is very hot, dry, and sunny. The temperature is hot most of the time, but only extremely hot during the summer time. Daytime temperature is around 104 degrees Celsius. Sometimes, it can even go over 122 degrees. This region is the home to the Nile River which is the longest river in the world.Before the construction of a Dam known as the Aswan Dam, the Nile flooded every year. This would replenish Egypt's soil. Because of this though the sea levels have risen and that could threaten Egypt's economy, agriculture, and many other things in the country.

Libya: The climate of Libya is mostly desert. This is because of the Libyan Desert taking up most of the region. It is said to be one of the hottest and driest places in the world. Hundreds of years can pass by without having any rainfall. There has been no recorded rainfall since 1998. The temperatures here can be very extreme and go up to 136 degrees Fahrenheit.

Morocco: The climate here is comparable to California. There are mountain ranges and forests in the Mediterranean  areas that are very similar. Summers are very hot and dry and the winters not too cold, just mild and wet. Near the more mountainous areas it can be very dry especially in the summer. The close proximity to the Sahara Desert can cause a rise or fall in the temperature just by a small fraction. 

Sudan: This region borders the Red Sea. Here, there is increased amount of rainfall in the southern areas. There is a three month period for the rain. More northern and in the central part of the region the climate is much more dry and desert like. Many sandstorm occur here and cause the sun to be blocked. The temperatures average around 80-100 degrees Celsius.

Tunisia:  The southern part of this region is mostly desert like. It has mountains and a dry central plain. In the north the climate is similar to Morocco and is very Mediterranean. The winters are very mild and summers are hot and dry.  

Western Sahara: This region borders the North Atlantic Ocean and Algeria. The area is mostly low and flat, but has some mountainous areas that reach up to 600 meters.

This video tells a bit more in depth of each part of North Africa. 

Population and Culture

POPULATION: 195 MILLION PEOPLE

Africa is the second largest continent in the world. North Africa consists of many different parts. It includes 7 countries or territories. These are Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, and Western Sahara. Because of this, there is a vast diversity in culture among many different people and towns.

There is a very large Jewish population here. In Morocco, they have many different groups of people with different beliefs. They follow many different religions such as Paganism to Christianity. The two main languages that are spoken are Arabic and Berber.

Here is a video that tells about visiting North Africa and what to expect if ever visited:

 Physiography

Since the Sahara Desert is in North Africa, many parts are very hot and desert-like. The Sahara Desert takes up a lot of land in North Africa. It is a total of 9,400,000 square kilometers. The area of the Desert is 3.63 million square miles. This is the third largest desert in the world.

Here is a video that tells all about the Desert: