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Southwest Asia could become too hot for humans in 30 years

NOV 09, 2015
Physics Today

Ars Technica : To better understand the effects of global warming at the regional level, Jeremy Pal of Loyola Marymount University and Elfatih Eltahir of MIT used high-resolution climate models to study one of the areas most likely to be affected, the Persian Gulf in Southwest Asia. The area is particularly vulnerable to climate change because of the gulf’s shallow waters and the region’s intense sunlight. According to their paper published in Nature Climate Change, if greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, within 30 years the resulting heat and humidity could exceed human tolerance. In addition, rising temperatures and humidity could bring on a host of other problems, such as an increase in climate-dependent infectious diseases. Curbing greenhouse gas emissions could delay the deadly temperature scenarios, say the researchers.

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