The Arab region — a vast swath of 22 countries in northern Africa and the Middle East — had its hottest year on record in 2024, according to a first-of-its-kind climate report. In 2024, the region had an alarmingly high average temperature that was 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit (1.08 degrees Celsius) higher than the annual average temperature from 1991 to 2020, the report found.
The rate of warming in the region is accelerating alongside an increase in climate-related events such as flooding and heatwaves, according to the first State of the Climate in the Arab Region report, published by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Dec. 4.
