The ongoing conflict in Gaza has resulted in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, displacing over 1.7 million people and causing widespread damage to infrastructure, which has severely limited access to adequate shelter, clean water, and healthcare. With summer temperatures exceeding 38°C (100 °F), conflict has heightened the population’s vulnerability to heat-related health risks, compounded by a combination of environmental, individual, and conflict-induced factors. Gaza’s dense population, high numbers of vulnerable groups (e.g. infants, pregnant women, the elderly), and widespread pre-existing health conditions further amplify susceptibility to heat stress. Overcrowded shelters foster rapid dehydration and the spread of infectious diseases, while the destruction of Gaza’s power grid has led to widespread electricity shortages, depriving families of fans, air conditioning, and refrigeration, which are critical for cooling. Immediate global intervention is required to implement emergency public health measures and establish long-term resilience to extreme heat. Proposed actions include the provision of solar-powered cooling shelters, ensuring access to clean drinking water, distributing essential supplies such as solar-powered fans and hydration kits, and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure. Without urgent action, the convergence of extreme heat and the ongoing conflict in Gaza threatens to trigger a devastating heat-related health crisis that disproportionately affects the most vulnerable segments of the population.

Several heatwaves (HWs) have been recorded in Egypt in recent years. Some of these HWs were mild, while others were severe and resulted in mortalities and morbidities. On the other hand, air pollution is considered a health issue in Egypt’s megacities, especially the capital city, Cairo, and its surroundings, the Greater Cairo (GC) region. In this study, we examine a number of HWs that have hit Egypt in recent years, along with the state of air quality, in terms of PM10, NO₂, and O₃, during the period of HW incidence, with a focus on the GC region. During the period of study, the frequency, intensity, and duration of HWs have been observed to increase. The total number of recorded HW events was 190, encompassing 376 HW days. The time series of daily mean NO₂ showed no correlation with temperature during the months that experienced HWs cases. Conversely, PM10 and O₃ concentrations exhibited a similar pattern as that of the daily maximum temperature. This increase in the two pollutant concentrations led to a degradation of the air quality, as demonstrated by the fact that the Air Quality Health Index went from “moderate risk”, on normal days, to “high risk” during the HWs.

Many studies have detected a relationship between diarrhea morbidity rates with the changes in precipitation, temperature, floods, droughts, water shortage, etc. But, most of the authors were cautious in their studies, because of the lack of empirical climate-health data and there were large uncertainties in the future projections. The study aimed to refine the link between the morbidity rates of diarrhea in some Egyptian governorates representative of the three Egyptian geographical divisions with the meteorological changes that occurred in the 2006–2016 period for which the medical data are available, as a case study. Medical raw data was collected from the Information Centre Department of the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population. The meteorological data of temperature and precipitation extremes were defined as data outside the 10th–90th percentile range of values of the period of study, and their analysis was done using a methodology similar to the one recommended by the WMO and integrated in the CLIMDEX software. Relationships between the morbidity rates of diarrhea in seven Egyptian governorates and the meteorological changes that occurred in the period 2006 to 2016 were analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis to identify the most effective meteorological factor that affects the trend of morbidity rate of diarrhea in each governorate. Statistical analysis revealed that some meteorological parameters can be used as predictors for morbidity rates of diarrhea in Cairo, Alexandria, and Gharbia, but not in Aswan, Behaira, and Dakahlia where the temporal evolution cannot be related with meteorology. In Red Sea, there was no temporal trend and no significant relationships between the diarrhea morbidity rate and meteorological parameters. The predictor meteorological parameters for morbidity rates of diarrhea were found to be depending on the geographic locations and infrastructures in these governorates. It was concluded that the meteorological data that can be used as predictors for the morbidity rate of diarrhea is depending on the geographical location and infrastructures of the target location. The socioeconomic levels as well as the infrastructures in the governorate must be considered confounders in future studies.

With recognized adverse effects on human health and the environment, surface ozone constitutes a major problem within and downwind of urbanized areas. In this work, we first analyzed 5 years of hourly concentrations of ozone measured in two megacities with contrasting climates: Paris and Cairo. In both cases, the maximal daily concentrations were observed in summer and they exceeded the 35 ppb threshold recommended by the World Health Organization in 45% and 69% of the days, respectively. During periods of forced reduced activities, these concentrations decreased in Cairo but not in Paris. This indicates that low-emission zones are not necessarily effective to help curb the ozone problem. In a second stage, the ozone retrievals of two satellite-based atmospheric sounding methods (AIRS, and the multispectral approach IASI+GOME2) were compared to the surface measurements. A systematic overestimation, larger for AIRS than IASI+GOME2, was observed. This is likely linked to the fact that satellite approaches retrieve ozone concentrations at higher atmospheric levels than the surface. However, a significantly high linear correlation was obtained at the monthly temporal resolution. Therefore, shift adjustments of the satellite measurements provide efficient proxies of surface observations with significant monthly correlations. This may help complete lacunar surface measurements.