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Review
. 2022 Dec 19;19(24):17086.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph192417086.

Climate Change and Nutrition: Implications for the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Ayoub Al-Jawaldeh  1 , Maya Nabhani  2 , Mandy Taktouk  3 , Lara Nasreddine  3
Affiliations
Review

Climate Change and Nutrition: Implications for the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Ayoub Al-Jawaldeh et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) is considered among the world's most vulnerable to the dire impacts of climate change. This review paper aims at (1) characterizing climate change in countries of the EMR; (2) examining the potential effects of climate change on the nutritional and health status of the population; and (3) identifying the most vulnerable population groups. The paper explored several climate change indicators including daily temperatures, extreme temperature, daily precipitation, extreme precipitation (flooding, drought, storms, etc.), humidity, CO2 concentrations and sea surface temperature in EMR countries. Findings suggest that climate change will exert a significant adverse effect on water and food security and showed that the nutritional status of the population, which is already characterized by the triple burden of malnutrition, is likely to worsen via three main pathways mediated by climate change, namely, its impact on food security, care and health. Women, infants, children, those living in poor households and those experiencing displacement will be among the most vulnerable to the nutritional impacts of climate change. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations from the Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition, which can support the region in tackling the critical nexus of climate change and nutrition.

Keywords: Eastern Mediterranean Region; climate change; nutrition; nutritional status; population.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article and they do not necessarily represent the views, decisions or policies of WHO or the other institutions with which the authors are affiliated.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Increase in temperatures in various countries of the EMR between 1901 and 2021. Data retrieved from the World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal [21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40]. Abbreviations: EMR: Eastern Mediterranean Region; KSA: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; UAE: United Arab Emirates.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Trend in annual precipitation (millimeters/year) in various countries of the EMR. Data retrieved from the World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal [21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40]. Abbreviations: EMR: Eastern Mediterranean Region; KSA: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; UAE: United Arab Emirates.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Trend in CO2 emission (kilotons) over time in countries of the EMR. Data retrieved from the World Bank [9,19,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76]. Abbreviations: EMR: Eastern Mediterranean Region; UAE: United Arab Emirates.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Per capita levels of renewable internal freshwater resources (m3) in countries of the EMR and change in these levels in the world vs. in the EMR. Abbreviations: EMR: Eastern Mediterranean Region; KSA: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; UAE: United Arab Emirates.
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