The heat is on … summer’s real impact across the Maghreb

Global warming, global heating, climate change, the greenhouse effect; call it what you will, global temperatures are expected to exceed the 1.5°C warming threshold above pre-industrial levels for at least one year between 2025 and 2029.

According to climatologists there is an 86% chance of this happening, and there is also an 80% chance that at least one year in this same period will be warmer than last year, 2024, which is currently the hottest ever recorded. What is it about this obvious reality and what it means for life on earth, that is not powerful enough to persuade some of the World’s biggest polluters from not drastically changing their ways, or even worse continuing to deny and to obfuscate?

As Moroccans celebrate Eid Al Adha, little attention is being paid by the rest of the World to the build-up of heat waves in recent weeks which are now leading to temperature rises of between 38 and 43 Celsius that are affecting whole swathes of the country and the wider Maghreb. For instance, an orange level alert was issued by the General Directorate of Meteorology for the provinces of Ouezzane, Guercif, Taza, Taounate, Khouribga, Fquih Ben Salah, Settat, and El Kelaa Sraghna. Today we are moving from exceptional events to regular climate events and the latest heated, heat waves over Morocco and the Maghreb are not seen to be remarkable when really, they should be. Recent research at the University of Roehampton in England has revealed that the human body may lose the ability to rid of excessive heat and stop functioning optimally when outside temperatures reach beyond 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). Current heatwaves across different parts of the World are prompting health warnings and raising alarm among climate scientists.

There is of course little justice to all of this, because many of the largest contributors to global warming are frequently home to some of the loudest climate change deniers, or those who see attempts to limit carbon pollution as a block to economic growth. Morocco contributes very little to global warming with its GHG emissions accounting for only about 0.18% of global emissions. Yet, as we know it is not immune to the effects of climate change, experiencing increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as that which it is experiencing now.  And even as Morocco becomes one of the leading players in the renewable energy market, it is still not immune from climate change. The argument that the Maghreb and the global South need to band together even more tightly to force the big polluting countries to act ever more strongly is compelling. It could begin with an invitation to some of the worst and most prolific climate deniers to come and spend a week or so, without air conditioning, in southern Morocco. This might at least constitute a long overdue wake-up call!

*Mark Seddon is a former Speechwriter to UN Secretary-General Ban ki moon & former Adviser to the Office of the President of the UN General Assembly