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Gulf Countries Assess Damage from Record Rainfall, Compensates those Affected

Gulf countries continue to survey the damage and compensate those affected from the record rainfall. (Oman News Agency)
Gulf countries continue to survey the damage and compensate those affected from the record rainfall. (Oman News Agency)
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Gulf Countries Assess Damage from Record Rainfall, Compensates those Affected

Gulf countries continue to survey the damage and compensate those affected from the record rainfall. (Oman News Agency)
Gulf countries continue to survey the damage and compensate those affected from the record rainfall. (Oman News Agency)

The Al-Matir depression, which swept the Gulf region over the past two days, has caused human losses and massive material damage.

The Sultanate of Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain announced the end of the depression and that work was underway to reopen roads, assess the damage to infrastructure and public and private properties, and provide the necessary support to all those affected.

On Thursday, the Center for Emergency Management in Oman announced that rescue teams will continue to search for missing persons after the number of victims reached 19, most of them students.

The rainy weather condition in Oman, which was accompanied by flooding and thunderstorms, led to serious damage to public and private property.

The Regional Center for Climate Change in Saudi Arabia announced the start of a comprehensive climate study of the depression that affected the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, its causes, and the extreme rainfall resulting from it. In a statement, the center said the study will also cover “the role of climate change” with efforts being coordinated with affected countries.

The center’s spokesman, Hussein Al-Qahtani, explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that the recent rainfall was higher than usual, which requires more research to study.

He stressed that that indicators of climate change were evident in several Saudi cities, such as Al-Namas, which witnessed hail falling in higher quantities than usual this year, in addition to other cities that saw the same situation last year, such as Taif, Buraidah, and Khamis Mushait.

He also confirmed that all climate studies presented by the National Center of Meteorology indicate that Saudi Arabia will see stronger climate phenomena in the coming years.

Last year, scientists at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) published a report that provided a comprehensive analysis of climate change and its consequences on the Arabian Peninsula.

The report said climate change could lead to higher temperatures and an increase in the severity and frequency of droughts, affecting agricultural and food production and leading to an increase in flash floods such as those witnessed in the region this week.

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Scientists Exploring How to Beat Heat for Better Sleep

(FILES) A woman with her face covered walks past air coolers kept on display outside a shop during a hot summer day amid severe heatwave in Varanasi, India on May 30, 2024. (Photo by Niharika KULKARNI / AFP)
(FILES) A woman with her face covered walks past air coolers kept on display outside a shop during a hot summer day amid severe heatwave in Varanasi, India on May 30, 2024. (Photo by Niharika KULKARNI / AFP)
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Scientists Exploring How to Beat Heat for Better Sleep

(FILES) A woman with her face covered walks past air coolers kept on display outside a shop during a hot summer day amid severe heatwave in Varanasi, India on May 30, 2024. (Photo by Niharika KULKARNI / AFP)
(FILES) A woman with her face covered walks past air coolers kept on display outside a shop during a hot summer day amid severe heatwave in Varanasi, India on May 30, 2024. (Photo by Niharika KULKARNI / AFP)

Cool showers and less coffee or alcohol: sleep quality is being harmed by hotter temperatures caused by climate change, and scientists say we need to learn how to adapt.

The human brain is very sensitive to heat, with higher temperatures raising the body's central thermostat and activating stress systems.

Scientists are increasingly exploring mechanisms that can help the body adapt to rising temperatures affecting our sleep and leading to health complications.

"Rising temperatures induced by climate change and urbanization pose a planetary threat to human sleep, and therefore health, performance, and wellbeing," according to a 2024 review of scientific literature published in the journal Sleep Medicine.

Humans lost an average of 44 hours of sleep a year during the first two decades of the 21st century compared to earlier periods, according to a 2022 study published in the journal One Earth, which linked the data to rising temperatures.

The intensification of global warming could lead to an annual loss of 50 to 58 hours of sleep per person by 2099, according to research led by Kelton Minor, from the University of Copenhagen, based on data gathered from more than 47,000 individuals in 68 countries.

"Interventional studies and field experiments are now urgently needed to foster adaptation and safeguard the essential restorative role of sleep in a hotter world," Minor and other authors of the paper said.

Neurons regulating temperature and sleep in the brain are highly interconnected, and lowering the body's internal thermostat is key to improving sleep quality.

Adapting to heat comes at a cost to the body, according to Fabien Sauvet, a researcher at Paris Cite University.

"We sweat more and faster, for example, but it requires additional hydration. And it has limits, so during heatwaves, the most important thing is to adapt our behavior," such as activities, schedules and clothing, Sauvet said.

But humans could "tolerate higher temperatures than commonly thought", he added, pointing to several studies showing that good sleep quality can be achieved with a room temperature of up to 28 degrees Celsius (82.4 degrees Fahrenheit).

Challenging "the false belief that the bedroom must be at 18-20C", he said that sleeping in light clothing such as a t-shirt and shorts, and with a simple sheet as well as good ventilation, could help dealing with a few more degrees.

"If we always sleep with air conditioning, we will never acclimatize," he said.

Armelle Rancillac, a neuroscientist at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology, said anything beyond 28C "becomes much more complicated".

An excessive lack of sleep is known to disrupt the body's recovery.

In the short term, this can lead to drowsiness, fatigue and a higher risk of accidents at the workplace or on the road.

In the long run, it can create a harmful sleep "debt", impacting our metabolism and increasing the risk of weight gain, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and even neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, Rancillac said.

A sleep deficit can also reduce stress resistance and have a negative impact on mental health.

To sleep better in a hotter environment, Rancillac stressed that there is a need to "eliminate or at least pay attention to sleep enemies".

Before bedtime, it is recommended to take a cool shower -- but not an icy one -- reduce stimulants like coffee, and limit alcohol, which facilitates falling asleep but slightly raises the internal body temperature.

Avoid hot tubs after a workout, opting instead for outdoor temperatures or a cold bath, said Sauvet.

Napping during the hottest hours of the day have also been proven to mitigate the impacts of a sleep deficit.

Short naps -- "30 to 40 minutes, and before 2:00 pm" -- are ideal, so as not to interfere with a good night's sleep, according to the researcher.