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Heat

Page 44

by Ranulph Fiennes


  So Earth has heated up and cooled down during its long history. What’s notable about the 8°C rise in average temperatures over the past 150 years is the rapid rate of increase when compared with other temperature increases which have unfolded over centuries.

  The argument about whether man is the root cause of the increased global temperature, or if natural phenomena are culpable, has been largely resolved.

  Today, a persuasive 97 per cent of scientists think that human activity has brought about global warming problems. And each year the problem climbs higher on the political agenda.

  Without touching on its causes, President Barack Obama put the threat in stark terms when he spoke in April 2015: ‘Today there is no greater threat to our planet than climate change.’ It could, he went on to say, no longer be denied or ignored – a commendably brave statement when many of his fellow politicians in the USA are doing just that.

  He has perhaps been persuaded by US government figures which reveal that average annual temperatures in Alaska have increased by three degrees over the past six decades, and by six degrees in winter, transforming snowbound landscapes to woodland and changing permafrost to thawed soil. The effects include increased costs to infrastructure as the land changes shape, acidification of the seas, and shrinking lakes affecting migrating birds.

  All over the world, climate change poses a real threat to people alive today, let alone to future generations. But some people will be hit much harder than others.

  According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme, the world’s poorest populations are likely to suffer most from floods, torrential rain, drought, famine, disease and food shortages. In addition, numerous plant and animal species will become extinct.

  WMO’s latest report contains the findings of more than eight hundred scientists from eighty countries and assesses over 30,000 scientific papers. It shows that each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the Earth’s surface than any preceding decade since 1850. ‘It is likely that human influence has more than doubled the probability of occurrence of heatwaves in some locations,’ the report states, ‘and it is likely to worsen with heatwaves happening more often and for longer.’

  Critically, increased temperatures will cause crop failures and water shortages in areas that can least afford this, and among people who, ironically, have some of the lowest emissions on Earth. It is the same story for thousands of people living on the fertile plains that encircle places like Bangladesh, which are likely to be swallowed by the sea that is rising at a rate of 3mm a year. That is in addition to stronger cyclones that will wreck homes and harvests, especially in Asia. Monsoons are expected to deluge West Africa, while the east of the continent will have short-lived rains instead. Tropical countries like Sierra Leone will suffer heatwaves, droughts, floods and deadly landslides. In South Sudan, the world’s newest country, desertification is already occurring after rains have become increasingly unpredictable.

  In cities that have sprung up among developing nations where there has been emerging prosperity, life may become unbearably hot – a fact that will inevitably hamper continued economic growth. Climate change could usher in a new era marked by the plight of desperate refugees as people try to escape the worst of its effects. As I write this in May 2015, BBC Radio 4 has just announced that over five hundred deaths in Southern India through heatstroke and extreme dehydration occurred over the past week, and that the forecast there is for a continuing ‘heatwave to severe heatwave’. In Delhi, where the temperatures were 4 degrees higher than the seasonal average, crowds have sought sanctuary in the Metro. Mortality levels are worse than in the severe heatwave of 2010, which started earlier, registered the highest temperatures for decades and lasted for months.

  For countries in low latitudes, their location within the tropics leaves them vulnerable to changes wrought by the weather, with difficulties exacerbated by a loss of forests which helps to shore up against its worst effects, but richer countries have the advantage of better geographical locations and a greater potential for technology to mitigate the effects. But climate change is also a First World problem.

  Australia’s Climate Council has said that climate change triples the odds of summer heatwaves and doubles the chances of them being intense. It believes heatwaves there are becoming hotter, lasting longer, occurring more often and starting earlier.

  With every heatwave comes an increased risk of wildfires. A new study by America’s National Park Service and the University of California has revealed that fires in the forests are causing a significant amount of emissions that in turn worsen the problem. Forest fires may be started by lightning, a dropped bottle that magnifies the power of the sun, or even deliberately. Depending on weather conditions, including wind speed, and the dryness of the forest, fires can race away from attending firefighters, eating up hundreds of acres in minutes.

  Despite the assertions of President Obama, climate change seems to slip off the political agenda surprisingly swiftly. Any international willingness to pull together in this great battle to ensure a stable climate is notably absent.

  Any naturally occurring process to correct the balance will be tortoise slow. But there are a few positives. One bright hope is the possibility of renewable energy flourishing in these new conditions. More solar power is being generated than ever before, and there are refinements on the theme, notably in Spain with new-style power stations in which multiple mirrors focus the sun’s rays to heat a boiler to 400°C. The resulting steam is passed into a turbine to generate electricity.

  So technological innovation may yet save the day. There is, for example, a slow-burning solar roadways project that will have tough solar panels replacing asphalt and providing enough electricity not only to power road signs and LED lights, but also homes and factories. First mooted in 2006, it is now attracting the interest of leading players in the industry. It is just one of a host of possible game-changers bidding for a place on the top table of ideas.

  Before the growing extremes of heat around the globe become simply defined as ‘the new normal’, I hope we can learn to pull together to save ourselves from self-inflicted oblivion. Heat is great in small doses which I have been lucky enough to experience on and off through my life. But a state of too much heat, from which there can be no escape is a fate we, the human race, must try far harder to avoid . . . while there is still time.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  My thanks to all those who helped my preparation of this book, including Ian Bannister, Dan Brandenstein, Patrick Brook, Kevin Fewster, Nicholas Holder, Steve Holland, Dr Oliver Johnson, Robin Knox-Johnston, Nicholas Lancaster, Peter Loyd, Quentin Morton, Jonathon Porritt, Eugene Rae, Sergiu Stanescu, Jan Turner, Simon Wilde, and Ben Wright.

  Also to my wife Louise and daughter Elizabeth for their patience, to Jill Firman for the ever more difficult task of deciphering my hieroglyphics, to Ed Victor for his advice and support, to Karen Farrington for her research expertise, and to all at Simon & Schuster.

  INDEX

  Abdullah, Salim ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14, ref15, ref16, ref17

  Abidjan ref1, ref2, ref3

  Aboriginals ref1

  Abu Dhabi ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Abu Mengal ref1

  Abu Simbel ref1

  Abyss of Dahaq ref1

  Abyssinia ref1

  Acuña, Cristóbal de ref1

  Addis Ababa ref1

  Aden ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  Adites ref1

  adoo see People’s Front for the Occupation of the Arabian Gulf (PFLOAG)

  Afghanistan ref1, ref2, ref3

  Age of Innocence ref1

  Agulhas Coast ref1

  AIDS ref1

  Ain Salah ref1

  Ainsley, Hamish ref1

  Ajman ref1

  Al Akaf ref1


  Akeley, Carl ref1

  Akeley, Delia Denning ref1

  Akeley, Mary ref1

  al-Qaeda ref1

  al-Shabaab ref1

  Albu Ali tribe ref1

  Albu Said dynasty ref1, ref2

  Albuquerque, Admiral ref1

  Alexander the Great ref1, ref2, ref3

  Alexandria ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Algeria ref1, ref2, ref3

  Algiers ref1

  Ali, Musallim ref1, ref2

  Almeida, Francisco d’ ref1, ref2

  Ambush Corner ref1

  American Civil War ref1

  Amin, Idi ref1, ref2

  Amr, Salim ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Anatolian Desert ref1

  Andes Mountains ref1

  Andhur ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  Andrada, Major Paiva d’ ref1

  Anglo-Omani Treaty ref1, ref2

  Antarctic Club ref1

  Antarctica ref1

  anthrax ref1

  ants ref1, ref2

  Anya Nya rebel army ref1, ref2, ref3

  apartheid ref1

  Arab Revolt ref1

  Arab Spring ref1, ref2, ref3

  Arabian Desert ref1

  see also Rubh al Khali (Empty Quarter)

  ARAMCO ref1, ref2, ref3

  archaeological students and field diggers ref1

  Arctic Ocean ref1

  Army School of Languages ref1

  Aswan Dam ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  Atbara ref1

  Atlantis ref1

  Atlas Mountains ref1, ref2

  Attenborough, David ref1

  Australia ref1, ref2, ref3

  Automobile Association ref1, ref2, ref3

  Awabi ref1

  al-Azhari, Ismail ref1

  Baden-Powell, Colonel Robert ref1

  Badr, Imam ref1

  Bahn, Paul ref1, ref2

  Bahrain ref1, ref2, ref3

  Bait Howeirat tribe ref1, ref2

  Bait Maashani tribe ref1

  Bait Shaasha tribe ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Baker, Florrie ref1

  Baker, Samuel ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Baluchis ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10

  Baluchistan ref1

  bananas ref1

  Bandama Rouge River ref1, ref2

  Bangladesh ref1

  Bantu ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  Barghash, Sultan ref1

  Bari tribe ref1

  Barth, Heinrich ref1

  Basrah ref1

  Bates, Walter ref1

  Batinah Plain ref1

  bats ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  Battle of Britain ref1

  Baudin, Nicholas ref1

  Bayley, David ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9

  Bayt al Falaj ref1

  Beau Geste (novel and film) ref1, ref2

  Bechuanaland ref1, ref2

  bedu ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10

  bee-eater ref1

  Begin, Menachem ref1

  Bell, Margaret ref1

  Benguela Current ref1

  Beni bu Ali tribe ref1

  Benjamin Bowring ref1

  Bent, Theodore and Mabel ref1

  Berbera ref1

  Bhai Dayal Ji ref1

  Bidbid ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8

  Al Bilad ref1, ref2

  Bilharz, Theodor ref1

  bilharzia ref1

  bin Abdullah, Hafidh ref1

  bin Ali, Ghalib ref1

  bin Ali, Talib ref1

  bin Ghia, Said ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10

  bin Laden, Osama ref1

  bin Nashran, Sultan ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10

  bin Nuffl, Musallim ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  bin Salim, Abdullah ref1

  Birkenhead ref1

  Black Death ref1

  Black Hole, Calcutta ref1

  black mambas ref1

  Black Sash movement ref1

  black smokers ref1

  Blashford-Snell, Major John ref1

  Blaxland, Gregory ref1

  Blennerhassett, Rose ref1

  Bligh, William ref1

  Blom, Ron ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  Blunt, Lady Anne ref1

  body temperature ref1

  Boer War ref1

  Boers ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  boiling alive ref1

  Boko Haram ref1

  Bor ref1, ref2

  Bordj-Mokhtar ref1

  Borneo ref1

  Botswana ref1

  Bowring, Anton ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  boxing ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  Brassey, Charles ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11

  Brassey, Lady ref1

  Brazza, Pierre-Paul-Françoise-Camille Savorgnan de ref1

  Brecon Beacons SAS deaths (2013) ref1

  Briksdalsbre Glacier ref1

  British Airways ref1

  British imperialism ref1

  British Petroleum ref1

  British South Africa Company ref1, ref2

  Brockhouse, Anthony ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10

  Brook, Patrick ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14

  Broome, Mike ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10

  brubru shrike ref1

  Bruce, James ref1, ref2

  Brunei ref1

  Bunyoro ref1

  Buraimi ref1, ref2

  Buraimi Oasis oil dispute ref1, ref2

  Burchell, William ref1

  Burckhardt, Johann ref1, ref2

  Burke, Robert ref1, ref2

  Burma ref1

  burning people alive ref1

  burns ref1

  Burton, Charlie ref1, ref2

  Burton, Richard ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9

  Bushmen see San people

  Cabral, Pedro Alvares ref1

  Cadamosto, Alvise de ref1

  ‘Cage’, Hauf ref1, ref2

  Caillie, Rene-August ref1

  Cairo ref1, ref2, ref3

  Calcutta (Kolkata) ref1, ref2

  calico ref1

  Calicut ref1, ref2

  Calotropis procera ref1

  Camarón ref1

  camel spiders ref1

  camel thorns ref1

  camels ref1, ref2

  dromedaries ref1

  milk ref1, ref2

  racing camels ref1

  riding ref1

  rut ref1

  Cameron, Verney Lovett ref1

  Canada ref1

  canoeing ref1

  Cão, Diogo ref1

  Cape Colony ref1

  Cape Town ref1, ref2, ref3

  Caroe, Sir Olaf ref1

  carpet vipers ref1

  Castle Combe ref1

  cattle raiding ref1, ref2, ref3

  cave hieroglyphics ref1

  Cazenove, Christopher ref1

  Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) ref1

  Ceylon (Sri Lanka) ref1

  Chaille-Long, Charles ref1

  Challenger space shuttle disaster (1986) ref1

  chameleons ref1

  Charles, Prince of Wales ref1, ref2, ref3

  chess set, ancient ref1

  Chihuahuan Desert ref1

  chikungunya fever ref1

  Chimborazo ref1

  Chua Hill, Battle of ref1

  Churchill, Winston ref1, ref2

  Clapp, Nick ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8

  Clapperton, Hugh ref1, ref2

  climate change ref1, ref2

  Cold War ref1, ref2

  Coleman, Rory ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Cole, Roger ref1

  Colman, Ronald ref1

  Columbus, Christopher ref1, ref2

  concentration camp
s ref1

  Congo (Lualaba) River ref1

  Conqueror tanks ref1

  Constantia ref1

  Cooper, Gary ref1

  Cooper, John ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14, ref15, ref16, ref17, ref18, ref19

  Cornwell, David (John Le Carré) ref1

  Covilha, Pero da ref1

  Craig, Vernon ref1, ref2

  crocodiles ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Cumming, Gordon ref1

  Cushites ref1

  cut-throat weaver bird ref1

  D-Notices ref1, ref2

  dahabiyas ref1

  Danakil Desert ref1

  Danjou, Captain Jean ref1

  Danube ref1

  Darbat ref1

  Darwin, Charles ref1

  dates ref1, ref2

  Death Valley ref1, ref2

  Deedes, Jeremy ref1

  Deefa ref1

  dehydration ref1, ref2, ref3

  symptoms ref1

  dengue fever ref1, ref2

  Denham, Dixon ref1

  desertification ref1, ref2

  deserts ref1

  see also individual index entries

  Devil’s Island ref1

  Dhofar

  Dhofar Rebellion ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  lost city of Ubar ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13

  scarcity of early written records ref1

  Dhofar Defence Force ref1

  Dhofar Liberation Front (DLF) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  dhows ref1, ref2

  diamonds ref1, ref2

  Dias, Bartholomew ref1, ref2, ref3

  Dinaux, Jean ref1

  Dinka tribe ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7

  dishdash garment ref1

  djinn ref1, ref2, ref3

  Doctor Dolittle ref1

  domino theory ref1

  Dongola ref1

  Doughty, Charles ref1, ref2

  dourra wheat ref1, ref2

  Dubai ref1, ref2

  Dunsire, Andy ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  Duru tribe ref1, ref2

  dust storms ref1, ref2

  Duveyrier, Henri ref1

  early explorers of Arabia ref1

  see also individual index entries

  East India Company ref1, ref2

  Eastern Cape ref1

  Eastern Mahra tribes ref1, ref2

  Ed Dueim ref1

  Eden, Anthony ref1

  Egypt ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Egyptian Revolution (1952) ref1

  Egyptian vultures ref1

  Egyptian–Israeli conflict ref1, ref2

  Eichornia crassipes ref1

  Eiger ref1

  El Alamein, battle of ref1

 

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