Climate Change during the Third Millennium—The Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

Abstract

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a union occurring in the arid subtropical belt of the world. Contemporary climate change is a serious environmental issue at the regional and global levels. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the changes and trends in the regional climate in the GCC countries in terms of the land surface temperatures and surface anomalies, precipitation, and sea surface temperatures over the first two decades of this millennium. Research data exclusively relied on satellite remote sensing. Spatial, statistical, and cartographic analyses were performed to extract, manipulate, and display thematic maps reflecting the changes and trends of the regional climate. The results showed that notable climate changes were obvious and frequent throughout the GCC countries, with symptoms influencing the atmosphere, lithosphere, and the hydrosphere of the region. However, a prominent gradient in the severity of climate change occurred from north to south. Remarkably, serious impacts were observed in Kuwait and eastern Saudi Arabia, while the least effects were recorded in Oman. The study denotes the competence of remote sensing for monitoring regional climate change.