A Systematic Review on the Outcomes of Climate Change in the Middle-Eastern Countries: The Catastrophes of Yemen and Syria

Abstract

The Middle East is facing serious climate change challenges, rendering it as one of the most affected regions worldwide. This paper aimed to investigate the outcomes of climate change in the Middle East. In 2024, a qualitative study was conducted employing a methodology that integrated systematic review for data collection and thematic analysis for data analysis. Such integration of the approaches provided valuable insights into the findings within the literature in a comprehensive and categorized format. PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched for relevant studies published between 2000 and 2024. The quality of these studies was assessed using the AACODS (Accuracy, Coverage, Objectivity, Date, Significance) checklist. The data extracted from the included studies underwent a thematic analysis utilizing Braun and Clarke's methodology. After completing the screening process, a total of 93 papers were deemed suitable for inclusion in the study. The quality assessment of these selected studies demonstrated a notably high standard, particularly in terms of authority, accuracy, coverage, objectivity, and significance. Moreover, minimal levels of bias were observed within the included studies. Subsequent thematic analysis of the findings from the systematic review identified 6 overarching themes: "Human Health Outcomes," "Animal Health Outcomes," "Plant Health Outcomes," "Ecological Outcomes," "Economic Outcomes," and "Political Outcomes." The study revealed ecological outcomes as the most prevalent consequences of climate change in the Middle East, including alterations in habitat distribution, temperature increase, water scarcity, and more. The outcomes seemed to be interconnected, exacerbating each other. Yemen and Syria had faced severe consequences, leading to political unrest and humanitarian crises in which Yemen ranking among the most water-stressed nations globally, while Syria contending with millions of displaced individuals living in dire conditions.

Keywords: Climate change; Middle East; environmental health; public health; sociology.

Figure 1.

PRISMA diagram of the systematic review.

Figure 2.

Quality assessment of the included studies.

Figure 3.

Distribution of themes among the included studies.

Figure 4.

Interconnectedness and causal relationships among the various outcomes of climate change.