A third of Egypt's Delta may drown due to climate change: Irrigation minister

Ahram Online , Tuesday 26 Oct 2021

Egypt’s Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Mohamed Abdel-Ati said on Monday that one third of the country’s Nile Delta may drown due to climate change.

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In a technical session held on the second day of the fourth edition of Cairo Water Week (CWW) to discuss the ‘Adaption Project’ which is a response to climate change and the phenomenon’s impact on the North Coast and Nile Delta, Abdel-Ati stated that one third of the Nile Delta may drown due to an increase in the water level of the Mediterranean Sea as a result of global warming.

The irrigation minister added that one of the impacts of climate change in the Nile Delta is that sea water will overlap with fresh water, causing its salinity to increase.

He also revealed that Green Climate Fund granted Egypt USD 32 billion to combat the repercussions of climate change, however, this amount of money is not enough to resolve the issue. He did assure that the sum of money is substantial, nonetheless.

The Green climate Fund was established in 2010 within the framework of the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Treaty to combat the consequences of climate change.

The fund supports projects, programmes, policies, and other activities in developing countries to face global warming.

Discussing the project, Abdel-Ati said that the project depended on studying the development of the North Coast as well as ways to protect valleys in the area prone to drowning.

The Fourth edition of the CWW kicked off on Sunday under the title ‘Water, Population, and Global Changes: Challenges and Opportunities.’

CWW involves a five-day gathering organised by the Egyptian Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources in cooperation with partners from regional and international organisations as well as national institutions, authorities, and ministries.

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