State of Climate in the Arab Region 2024, published in December 2025 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) with contributions from regional partners, provides the first comprehensive assessment of climate trends, weather extremes, and impacts across the 22-country Arab region. The report highlights accelerating warming, more frequent and severe extremes, and emerging climate risks that threaten communities, economies, and ecosystems throughout the region.
Key Insights
• Record Regional Warming: Confirms that 2024 was the hottest year on record in the Arab region, with temperatures rising at approximately twice the global average, driven by long-term climate change.
• Extreme Weather & Impacts: Documents intensified heatwaves, prolonged droughts (particularly in North Africa), and sudden extreme rainfall events and floods in typically arid areas. These extremes affected millions and contributed to over 300 reported deaths, though true social and economic losses are likely higher.
• Water Security & Scarcity: Emphasizes acute water challenges: the region includes many of the world’s most water-scarce countries, with climbing demands on limited supplies, exacerbated by rising temperatures and evaporative losses.
• Early Warning & Preparedness: Highlights progress in climate risk services, noting that nearly 60 % of Arab countries operate multi-hazard early warning systems—above global average—yet stresses the need to expand and strengthen these systems.
• Decision-Support for Resilience: Calls for enhanced adaptation planning, systematic climate risk monitoring, and sustained regional cooperation to inform policy, infrastructure investment, and community-level resilience strategies in the face of accelerating climate change.
