Uncertainty about climate change impact on Nile
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Global warming in Egypt could speed up the Nile river evaporation process and lead to a decline in freshwater supplies, exacerbating the country’s acute shortage of water for drinking, irrigation and hydro-electric generation.
Such a scenario could also have serious socio-economic consequences, one of which could be that Egypt might not be able to feed its 80 million people.
However, experts offer conflicting projections and remain uncertain whether climate change will have such a negative impact on the Nile. Some experts say that there will be water increase with more rainfall from the Ethiopian plateau, and some say there will be a decrease because of water evaporation.
The river Nile supplies 95 percent of Egypt’s total water needs for irrigation, and industrial and economic activities. Most of the population is concentrated on the narrow T-shaped strip along the Nile and the delta coast. The delta makes up only 2.5 percent of Egypt’s land mass but is home to over a third of the country’s population.
The country is, therefore, extremely vulnerable to any adverse climate change impacts on water availability in the coastal zones and the Nile.
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