Climatic changes and desertification in some regions of the Middle East

It is generally believed that more than 100 tropical countries are suffering from desertification or land degradation as a result of climatic changes. There is also concern that the rising temperature would lead to further environmental degradation and cause economic, social and other environmental impacts (1) in the Middle East. This paper is a modest attempt to investigate temperature and rainfall data in three countries of the Middle East (Oman, Bahrain, and Sudan) to determine if any change has taken place in the weather conditions. The short term environmental impact of the GulfWar in 1991 has been included in the study.The study confirms that temperatures are rising and rainfall is decreasing in Oman (2, 3) and other two countries, leading to increasing desertification processes. Here, following Hume and Kelly (4) desertification is taken to mean degradation in dryland regions or the permanent decline in the potential of the land to support biological activity and hence human welfare. A brief geographical discussion of Oman, Bahrain, and Sudan precedes a detailed analysis of temperatures and rainfall regimen in all three countries.