Gaza Grape Harvest Hit by Too Much Sun, Not Enough Rain 

A Palestinian farmer picks up grapes at a field in Gaza City August 21, 2023. (Reuters)
A Palestinian farmer picks up grapes at a field in Gaza City August 21, 2023. (Reuters)
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Gaza Grape Harvest Hit by Too Much Sun, Not Enough Rain 

A Palestinian farmer picks up grapes at a field in Gaza City August 21, 2023. (Reuters)
A Palestinian farmer picks up grapes at a field in Gaza City August 21, 2023. (Reuters)

Grape harvests in Gaza have been hit hard by relentless heat waves and a lack of rain, leaving farmers in the Palestinian enclave worried for their livelihood.

Grapes are a favorite treat among Gaza's residents and vineyards cover much of its farmland.

But they are particularly sensitive to shifting temperatures and weather patterns, and like in other regions across the world, there is reason for concern.

Ibrahim Abu Owayyed comes from a family of growers. His vineyard was passed down from his father and grandfather. He saw his harvest plummet to 1.5 tons compared to five tons of grapes last season.

"It is almost nothing," said Abu Owayyed. "Grapes are our sole source of income. We and our children rely on it. The heat and the climate change impacted us completely."

Production in the 2023 season dropped 60% from last year to 4,000 tons, according to Agriculture Ministry official Mohammad Abu Odeh. Grapes remain in the top four of crops in Gaza.

"Higher temperatures have also led to the spread of disease, which impacted the already low production and further increased the costs for farmers," Odeh said, pointing to shriveled up bunches of grapes hanging in one coastal vineyard.

At least 1,000 farmers work 1,730 acres of grapes, he said.

The problem does not stop with grapes, he said. Climate change is threatening broader food security in the territory, home to 2.3 million people and under a blockade by Israel.

Owayyed, a father of seven and a farmer for 25 years, said he had to pay double the usual on pesticides as prices rise.

Palestinians say the 16-year-old blockade has crippled the territory's economy. Israel and Egypt also imposed tighter restrictions on the movement of people and goods through the Gaza crossings.

Weak production has hiked the price of grapes, said farmer Khamees Shamalakh.

"The economic situation in the country is bad, people have no income, someone who used to buy three or four kilos is buying one kilo now," said Shamalakh, 75, at his stall at one of Gaza City's busiest squares.



American Climber Dies on World's Fifth-highest Peak in Nepal

01 May 2025, Nepal, Kathmandu: A domestic aircraft descends over the Kathmandu Valley as snow-capped mountain ranges appear faintly in the distance under a rain-laden sky. Photo: Safal Prakash Shrestha/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
01 May 2025, Nepal, Kathmandu: A domestic aircraft descends over the Kathmandu Valley as snow-capped mountain ranges appear faintly in the distance under a rain-laden sky. Photo: Safal Prakash Shrestha/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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American Climber Dies on World's Fifth-highest Peak in Nepal

01 May 2025, Nepal, Kathmandu: A domestic aircraft descends over the Kathmandu Valley as snow-capped mountain ranges appear faintly in the distance under a rain-laden sky. Photo: Safal Prakash Shrestha/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
01 May 2025, Nepal, Kathmandu: A domestic aircraft descends over the Kathmandu Valley as snow-capped mountain ranges appear faintly in the distance under a rain-laden sky. Photo: Safal Prakash Shrestha/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

An American mountaineer died on Mount Makalu in eastern Nepal during a climb to raise funds for a children's cancer program, officials said on Tuesday, the second death in the Himalayan nation's climbing season that began in March.
The world's fifth-highest mountain, Makalu's peak is 8,463 m (28,000 ft) high, compared to Mount Everest, the tallest peak, at a height of 8,849 m (29,032 ft).
Alexander Pancoe, 39, died on Sunday while settling into his sleeping bag at the mountain's second high camp, after returning from an acclimatization trip at the higher camp three, Reuters quoted expedition organizer Madison Mountaineering as saying.
"Alex suddenly became unresponsive," the company said on its website. "Despite hours of resuscitation efforts ... they were unable to revive him."
Nepal's tourism department said it was arranging to bring the body to Kathmandu, the capital.
Pancoe, who survived a brain tumor when younger, had completed the Explorer's Grand Slam - climbing the highest peaks on each of the seven continents and then skiing to both the North and South Poles.
He had been battling chronic myeloid leukemia and was attempting to climb Makalu to raise funds for the pediatric blood cancer program of the Chicago-based Lurie Children's Hospital, said expedition leader Garrett Madison.
He had already raised $1 million to help fund clinical trials and other programs there, Madison added.
In April, a Nepali sherpa died on Mount Annapurna, the world's 10th highest mountain.
Wedged between India and China, landlocked Nepal is home to eight of the world's 14 highest peaks, including Mount Everest, and its economy is heavily reliant on climbing, trekking, and tourism for foreign exchange.