The lack of climate change data exacerbates the problem

The per capita consumption of water in the country is the highest in the world

The Conference on Climate Change and the Future of Water, organized by the Emirates Center for Studies, Research and Strategy, confirmed that the rate of per capita water consumption in the country is currently the highest in the world.

It exceeds 500 liters per day, about 82% higher than the global average, while the average annual rainfall in the country is close to 100 millimeters.

Dr. Bahman Bakhtiari, Executive Director of the International Foundation for Civil Society Middle East and North Africa, director of the session on “The Future of Water in the Arab Gulf Region,” warned that the UAE will deplete its water resources during the next 50 years, stressing the need to think about how to manage its water resources so as not to Exposed to an aggravating problem in the future.

He pointed out that achieving water security is a very big challenge for the Gulf region, and we must think about re-establishing new strategies for water management in the region, especially since many economies of the world will be affected in the future by the quality of their management of their water reserves.

The Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program, Syed Agha, stated that water scarcity is a reality in the UAE;

As its population grows by 5% per year, which puts more pressure on what some call the “regional water crisis,” indicating that effective use and rationalization of consumption must be part of the solution to this impending “crisis.”

The Vice Dean of the College of Sciences at the UAE University, Dr. Ahmed Ali Murad, stated that the average annual rainfall in the country is approximately 100 millimeters;

It ranged from less than 40 mm around Liwa Oasis to 160 mm in the northeastern mountains.

Murad added, "We need data to estimate the impact of climate change on water resources, and the lack of data is one of the main problems that impede forecasting the impact of climate change in the country, and average data is only available for a few cycles covering 30 years."

Murad pointed out that an increase in temperature will lead to an increase in evaporation and transpiration rates.

This strongly affects the availability of water.

Meanwhile, Dr. Peter Werner, Director of the Center for Water and Climate Change at the UAE University, called for adopting modern methods to protect the water reserves in the country, including recycling waste water in desalination processes and reused water, and thinking about treating polluted groundwater.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news