There is growing awareness that the Arabian Gulf countries - Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE and Kuwait - are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Already, the region is experiencing increasing temperatures, rising sea levels that exceed global average rates, increasingly acidic coastal waters  that  harm  marine  life,  and  altered  dust  storm  patterns. Given our current understanding about climate change, the future will bring intensification of these trends which will adversely impact marine/terrestrial biodiversity, groundwater supply, air quality, public health, coastal zone infrastructure, and other valuable systems/sectors in the region. In response, the UAE and other GCC countries have begun to mobilize resources to confront what may be the most serious environmental challenge of this generation.

 

The Climate Change Research Group provided technical support from 2013-2017 to the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI) to explore the impacts of climate change at the local, national, and regional levels in the Gulf. Twelve research studies were undertaken that focused on regional modeling, environment, water, coastal zones, and socioeconomics. The results are presented in a series of "Inspectors". Please click on the button above to start exploring the Inspectors.