Engineer Yousef Al-Ramzi, member and official spokesperson of the Environmental Engineers Team at the Kuwait Environment Protection Society, participated in a series of meetings organized by the World Health Organization in coordination with the Kuwait Center for Public Policy at the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development, which was held at the United Nations House in Kuwait to discuss environmental and climate challenges and their impact on public health.
During his scientific intervention, Mr. Yousef Al-Ramzi stressed that “desertification and its expansion due to drought and lack of rain associated with the effects of climate change on the State of Kuwait means that it is exposed to a large number of dust storms at extended periods during the year, and these dust storms naturally cause many problems, including health, social and environmental problems.”.
Al-Ramzi explained, “We must note that Kuwait is a small country compared to its neighbors, and these dust storms affect Kuwait and its neighbors. Dust storm corridors and prevailing winds originate in the north and head south, passing through Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain. It is therefore important to address this problem regionally to develop solutions for adapting to climate change, in cooperation with neighboring countries, especially the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. We can begin by researching dust storm corridors in the region and exploring ways to mitigate their impact, whether through campaigns to increase vegetation cover or through strategic and sustainable construction to reduce the effects of these winds.”.
He added, “Among these strategies, we must start by conducting research on the areas before building residential cities in them to protect the residents of the area from these winds and also from torrents and floods, because Kuwait has a clear map showing the paths of torrents, and there are cities and residential areas located in the paths of these torrents, exposing their residents to danger and exposing them to diseases and affecting their health.”.
