WASM - Vast areas of the eastern Arab world, which includes Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, and Arab Gulf states, are experiencing an exceptional wave of floods and successive heavy rainfall conditions over the past 3 months that have caused recurring flood and flooding incidents as a result of sharp climate changes affecting the region. These have caused damage to infrastructure and posed a threat to lives. WASM Center expects the wave of floods and storms to intensify over the next 5 months in increasing severity.
WASM Regional Center has issued several reports confirming that rainfall rates across most of the eastern Arab world are increasing significantly. Rain has begun falling even during dry seasons in the Arabian Peninsula region for the past 3 years and on a recurring basis. Strong rainy seasons have begun repeating on an almost annual basis, whereas previously they occurred once every 4-7 years.
Jordan |
Jordan has been affected by climate changes since the 2014-2015 season, with rainfall conditions intensifying and rainfall rates becoming significant in many seasons. The strongest rainy seasons have repeated since the 2018-2019 season, and these climate changes are expected to become more pronounced over the coming years.
Kuwait and Arab Gulf States |
Kuwait has begun recording repeated annual waves of strong floods and heavy rainfall conditions. Floods and flash floods have also recurred in both the UAE and Oman during several periods. The UAE and Oman recorded the strongest rainy seasons in the 2019-2020 season in the history of climate records after being affected by 4 tropical storms whose impacts swept from the Arabian Sea.
Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula |
The city of Jeddah recorded the highest rainfall amounts in the history of modern climate records in November 2022. Saudi Arabia continues to experience successive exceptional rainy seasons, particularly since 2015-2016. Strong seasons now repeat on an almost annual basis as a result of recent climate changes.
Egypt, Iraq, and the Levant |
Rainfall rates have increased in the southern parts of the Levant, particularly in Jordan, Palestine, southern Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt since the 2014-2015 season due to climate changes that have contributed to shifting the centers of atmospheric depressions to the southeast of Cyprus Island due to high temperature rates in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean.
New Rainy Seasons |
The Arabian Peninsula is experiencing new rainy seasons that have begun to appear in mid-summer due to the annual onset of monsoon winds. This became evident starting in 2015 and has become annual since 2019. The reason for this is the rise in temperatures in the Arabian Peninsula region compared to previous years.
Scientific Causes |
As a result of the Atlantic Ocean experiencing strong storms in recent years due to rising Atlantic Ocean temperatures, this has resulted in the presence of a strong high-pressure system extending from North Africa and Maghreb countries toward the European continent, which is experiencing severe dry waves. This exposes the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East to cold air masses and the succession of atmospheric depressions and increasing rainfall conditions.
WASM Regional Center | Eastern Arab World Experiencing Widespread Flash Floods and Rising Rainfall Rates
