Kuwait is considered one of the hottest places on earth. In summer, the country seems like a harbinger of climate change. The beaches are deserted, trees are withered and anyone who wants to jog goes to the shopping center.
Kuwait City – When Ali Habib can no longer stand the 50 degrees Celsius outside, he gets up from his chair under a parasol on a scorching street corner, sits in his car and turns on the air conditioning for a bit. Habib, who sells sunflower seeds to drivers here for more than twelve hours a day, knows what it feels like to spend a summer in extreme heat. Hot air blew over Kuwait like from an oven. It's hard to breathe, and skin and hair heat up after minutes. We don't really have to; we don't spend any time outside during the day.
Kuwait, geographically squeezed between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, seems like a harbinger of life in a climate of change. In times when very hot areas become uninhabitable and everyday life takes place mainly indoors. Temperature increases in the next 50 to 75 years could make large parts of the country unsuitable for human settlement, writes the Kuwait Times, citing figures from the environmental agency. A Harvard study could then attribute 13 out of 100 deaths to climate change.
“As if outside didn’t exist”
Many of the wealthy residents only leave their air-conditioned homes and offices in the summer to drive in air-conditioned cars to air-conditioned shopping malls or shops and restaurants. “It's as if it doesn't exist outside,” Sharifa al-Shalfan, an architect living in Kuwait, told the Guardian.
In 2016, Mitribah outside Kuwait City recorded the third highest temperature in the world, at 53.9 degrees, verified by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The only other places that were hotter were Death Valley in California (56.7 degrees – 1913) and Kebili in Tunisia (55.0 degrees – 1931). The WMO is sticking to these figures as long as there is no evidence to the contrary. In Kuwait, the 50-degree mark was broken in May this year, the earliest in decades.
“I come every day at around half past six or seven,” says a 50-year-old man wearing green sneakers and a cap, who has come for a sporty walk in the “Avenues,” a kind of air-conditioned village for shopping and eating. Cold air flows out of the wall pipes, making you shiver and your nose get blocked. Birds fly under the glass roof. “It feels like you're running outside,” says a New Zealander enthusiastically. Some shopping centers have their own lanes for walking and jogging on the upper floors.
Dead fish are washed ashore, palm trees die
Outside, where the sun continues to beat down, animals and plants are already showing signs of heat stress. A local journalist reports that stray cats are brought to veterinary practices in the summer after suffering heat exhaustion. Birds are found dead on rooftops because they can't find any shade or water. Dead fish have been washed up on the shore several times, apparently not getting enough oxygen in the water of the hot bay.
On Kuwait's waterfront, pigeons can be seen jostling in the shade of a palm tree. City trees are dying on sidewalks, and even the heat-resistant palm trees are standing withered by the roadside, with light brown leaves hanging.
Doctor: Heat above 40 degrees for several hours can be fatal
If the humidity is very high, for example on the coast of Kuwait, the body can no longer cool down through sweating, says doctor Andrea Nakoinz from the German Alliance for Climate Change and Health. Sweat no longer evaporates from the skin, which would otherwise provide cooling. “Then temperatures of over 40 degrees for several hours can be fatal.”
The buildings, which are air-conditioned and use a lot of energy, are not a final solution either. The air from the air conditioning dries out the respiratory tract and makes it more susceptible to germs, says Nakoinz. In addition: “If I always sit in air-conditioned rooms, I cannot adapt to the heat.” Stepping outside from 18 to 40 degrees can lead to circulatory collapse in people with pre-existing conditions.”
Kuwait's dilemma is oil, first discovered in 1938. Exports – Kuwait has some of the largest oil reserves in the world – have brought prosperity, skyscrapers and twelve-lane highways. At the same time, the state and its inhabitants are dependent on the raw material, which the world must say goodbye to if it wants to contain the effects of climate change such as extreme heat. The share of renewable energies in Kuwait is actually supposed to make up 15 percent by 2030 – according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the share of electricity generation was recently just 0.2 percent. There are few countries where electricity consumption is as high as in Kuwait, and it is increasing.
A liter of gasoline is cheaper than a liter of Coke
“Oil and gas keep us moving” and “fuel our world,” says a museum near the largest oil field, Burgan. To animate black streaks, “our oil” is described there as “our people,” “our world,” and “our future.” Oil stands for progress, it is national pride and not, as environmental activists in Europe say, a dirty climate killer. In the museum shop in Kuwait, the mascot is a laughing oil drum with a helmet and blue oil worker overalls in children's sizes.
Kuwait has the cheapest petrol in the Gulf, says the owner of a tourism company. Because petrol is subsidised by the state, a litre of premium petrol costs the equivalent of around 60 euro cents at the petrol station, which is less than a litre of Coca-Cola. When he parks and gets out for 15 or 20 minutes, the man leaves the engine running so that his SUV stays nice and cool. His petrol consumption is between 14 and 20 litres per 100 kilometres.
The few pedestrians you see at intersections are protecting themselves from the sun and exhaust fumes with umbrellas and scarves. Most of the beaches are deserted, with only a few hardy souls basking in the midday heat or dipping their feet in the water.
The heat hits the poorest in particular
As in other regions of the world, the consequences of climate change hit the poorest first. At construction sites in the suburbs, Chaitan meets men from India or Sri Lanka who are mixing cement, laying water pipes, and covering ceilings. Working outdoors is actually prohibited in the summer between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. These migrant workers, who make up about two-thirds of Kuwait's population, are particularly at risk in the heat and “bear the brunt of it,” writes the World Health Organization.
At the fish market, Egyptians bring their catch ashore in 48 degree Celsius heat. “What should I do?” says Hamid Mohammed Issa, who has been working in Kuwait for 42 years. Sweat is pouring down his forehead like water. “I have to earn my living.” dpa
