Heat-related deaths in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) will be 60 times higher by the end of the century if no climate action is taken, researchers have said.
Around 123 people in 100,000 are predicted to die compared with two in 100,000 now, more than any other region in the world. Iranians will suffer most, with 423 deaths per 100,000, while in Palestine, Iraq and Israel more than 160 people per 100,000 will die, the research found.
The UK in comparison will see a rise from three to nine deaths per 100,000 by the 2080s under what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) deems a high emissions scenario, where countries enact no mitigation policies. Gulf states such as the United Arab Emirates, where the next UN climate conference – Cop28 – is to be held, would see the greatest relative increase in heat-related deaths.
