In Kuwait City, one of the hottest places on Earth, temperatures reached such a staggering level that the fish were cooked by the sea water itself, and the birds fell dead from the sky.
A City Scorched by the Sun
Kuwait, a tiny but oil-rich country located in the Persian Gulf, has always been home to some of the most intense heat on the surface of the earth. Recently, the temperature in this area has surpassed 50°C (122°F), and it was even recorded as high as 54°C (129°F) in the shade. Such heat is so powerful that it leads the water of the ocean to welcome the death of the marine life that cannot cope with such temperatures.
Fish Boiling in the Sea
Local fishermen say that the fish they caught in the Gulf were already dead and had flesh that was like cooked one due to the scorching water. A fisherman who spoke to the Mirror said, “Sometimes the water is so hot that you cannot even touch it.” “The fish are going to die,” he added.
The rise in sea temperature brought about by climate change has become a factor in the breakdown of marine ecosystems, according to scientists. Coral reefs have become white and fish populations continue to decrease, hence the biodiversity is under threat, as well as the livelihoods of those depending on the sea.
Birds Falling from the Sky
Additionally, this intense heat has led to the death of birds as well. Birds that were not able to adapt to the heat have been spotted rolling down from the sky while still in flight. According to the experts, dehydration alongside heat exhaustion is the reason that many species find it hard to survive.
“Birds are particularly susceptible as they are unable to find a way to get rid of the heat,” a wildlife researcher said. “At such high temperatures in the air, flying is of no use to them—they get overheated and thus, they fall.”
Life in an Unbearable Climate
For people in Kuwait, the sun has turned life into a war without end. The rich rely on their air conditioners, but the workers who are out there in the sun—most of them migrant laborers—are exposed to very dangerous conditions. Construction workers, street vendors, and delivery drivers are usually the ones who must work in the heat because nobody else is going to do that, and they are thus endangering themselves with heatstroke and even death without realizing it.
Authorities have introduced work bans during the hottest hours of the day in summer, but the execution of these bans is not regular. According to many workers’ reports, they cannot stop working if they want to eat, even though they are in danger.
A Warning for the Future
The hot weather in Kuwait is the most vivid picture we have of what could happen to our planet if we don’t do anything about climate change. Experts say that the Middle East, in particular, could become a place where people can no longer live because temperatures will be too high.
One of the scientists who deals with climate change said, “One of the scariest things is that this is just the first part of the job.” “If we do not reduce global warming, cities like Kuwait will not only be unpleasant there, but they will be uninhabitable.”
The world’s hottest city is becoming even hotter, and thus the people of Kuwait and the wildlife there are on the spearhead of the climate catastrophe, which is still going to get wor,se and it’s not showing any signs of coming to an end.
