We will burn

During my vacation, this summer to London, (the capital of fog, as it is called), I witnessed the second wave of hot weather, where the temperature reached 40 degrees. Life came to a halt; there were no buses or trains, and the streets were nearly deserted. Those who you may find on the streets could be only from the Arabian Gulf region. For us, this weather is hot, yet 40 degrees is what we are used to. The two days of hot weather led to fires in London’s forests, and we began to hear about hundreds of deaths due to the high temperature. It is clear now that the world has begun to face the consequences of global warming, as some European countries have already begun to take effective measures towards this phenomenon. In this regard, Denmark may be one of the most developed and serious countries in the world, particularly in terms of renewable and clean energy. The UK is also following the same path as pollution has largely decreased because of the spread of electric cars, especially those used in taxis and other modes of transportation. As a statistic mentioned, nitrogen dioxide has decreased in London's streets from 2016 to 2019 by 94%. Also, there is a tax of up to 12.5 pounds per day on some crowded streets on every car that uses petrol or diesel. Carbon dioxide has also decreased by 27% from 2001 to now, considering an increase in London’s population of about 1.4 million people during this period. I think that without these measures, the situation in the British capital would have been much worse during those heat waves. I remember that in the eighties in London, I used to return to the hotel with a severe headache from the smell of exhaust, and the city was noisier because the machines for buses and taxis at that time were using diesel. From London, we return to Kuwait. I used to say to my grandson Adnan: "Praise be to Allah that we live in Kuwait." It is true that the temperature is high, but you can find air conditioners everywhere. He answered me, "Now the temperature is up to 51 degrees, and the temperature is expected to rise in the world by two degrees in 2050, which means that the temperature will reach 53 degrees in Kuwait." Of course, this is in addition to the degree of humidity and dust storms resulting from drought. Then he continued: "Will the air conditioners withstand these conditions?" I answered him: "You are right." Originally, the efficiency of air conditioners in the current degrees has started to decline, and if the state and its bodies do not act now to confront this dilemma, we will be burned. " He answered me reasonably and logically: "Using clean energy and landscaping can reduce the temperature by five degrees." which will decrease the expected increase in temperature. "If every house planted a tree in front of it," he continued, "you will see a green forest when you fly over Kuwait City in 10 years." I replied to him: "The Agriculture Authority in Kuwait has distributed hundreds of farms to provide food and animal security, but unfortunately, many of them have been turned to the personal use of the beneficiary, such as a diwaniya or a private farm." I do not want to tell him so as not to frustrate him more, by how and to whom some of these plots were distributed, but the result was that there was no food or animal security, and I told him: "In all areas of Kuwait there are areas designated for gardens, but unfortunately most of them are neglected and have become truck stops, car shades, and others." And I continued: "We have an environmental authority that has not yet been able to control the Ministry of Public Works and stop it from pumping sewage into the sea." Most of the rainwater sewage does not reach the sea clean because of the countless violations by some citizens and contractors who connect sewage drainage with sewage rain manholes. This, of course, is other than the problems of garages and factories in the Shuwaikh and Al Rai areas. There are goldsmithing workshops scattered here and there that dispose of their waste of toxic mercury, acid, and other dangerous chemicals into the sewers."

Stay safe.