Summer in Egypt was so hot this year that the managers of a 40-hectare orchard in the Nile Delta had to wrap each fruit on its mango trees with paper to shield them from the heat.
They also coated the orchard's oranges with kaolin, a type of clay, in the agricultural equivalent of applying sunblock to humans, said Laila Aly, one of the orchard's managers and a German-trained agronomist.
A spray system was also installed to cool the trees on particularly hot days in a summer now labelled by scientists as the hottest on record, she told The National.
Now in mid-November, summer and its unforgiving near-daily temperatures of 40ºC and above should be long gone.
Not quite.
Temperatures have remained at 30ºC and above since October, nearly 10ºC above the norm for this time of year five decades ago – and even more recently.
With cooler weather nowhere in sight, T-shirts and light cotton are still the clothing of choice. The whirr of air conditioners is still constant in Cairo, where the population density and air pollution make even a moderately hot day feel much hotter.
With the hotter weather comes higher-than-usual demand on the electricity grid, forcing the government to reintroduce daily power cuts lasting an average of two hours to reduce the load.
Experts say the higher temperatures are an effect of climate change that has caused extreme weather, deadly floods, wildfires, sandstorms and coastal erosion in countries around the world.
Although the impact on Egypt is unlikely to be cited alongside the risks faced by low-lying Pacific and Indian Ocean islands at the Cop28 climate summit in the UAE later this month, the danger posed to the Arab world's most populous nation is both imminent and serious.
How temperatures and rainfall have changed in Egypt - 1901-2020
The mostly desert nation, whose 105 million people live on less than 10 per cent of its land, is ranked among the driest countries on the planet. Much of its $90 billion annual import bill is spent on food.
Now, rising sea levels caused by climate change is not only eroding its Mediterranean coastline but also causing the rapid salination of the fertile farmlands in the Nile Delta – the nation's bread basket.
At the same time, hotter and longer summers are raising costs and reducing yields for food growers, which has a knock-on effect on consumers already struggling with record levels of inflation amid an economic crisis.
“Climate change mitigation is costly and labour intensive but must be done for our business to survive,” said Ms Aly of the Nile Delta orchard.
“The additional expense goes on top of the sharp increase in production costs as a result of the Egyptian pound's significant loss of value against the dollar since last year,” she added.
Prominent climate change and farming expert Waleed Ramadan said Egypt's prolonged summers are already taking a heavy toll on food production, reducing harvests and disrupting the normal cycle for growing crops.
Both mean higher domestic retail prices for vegetables and fruits, he told The National.
“What used to be grown only in southern Egypt, where it's hotter than the rest of the country, is now being grown in the north. And the crops that are normally grown in September or October are now put back to November and December when the weather is cooler,” he said.
“When the productivity is down, what's available on local markets becomes less and that pushes prices up,” he said. “And it's because of the hot weather that your export season for a fruit like strawberries is stretched to May and June and not ending in March as it once did.
“That puts us at a disadvantage because it means our strawberries go head to head against better quality strawberries from places like Morocco and Spain.”
Nagy Salim, an agronomist and a farmer from Assiut in southern Egypt, already has his own climate change disaster story.
This year, nearly 75 per cent of his mangoes were so scorched by the summer heat that he had to sell them at a huge discount, he said.
“It's climate change. But here in southern Egypt, we cannot afford to cover the fruits in paper or spray them to protect them from the heat,” Mr Salim, who offers his expertise to large-scale farmers, told The National.
He also complained about a reduction in the yield of other crops he grows, as well as higher-than-usual water consumption by his crops because of the excessive and prolonged heat.
Back in northern Egypt, Mohammed El Beltagy said climate change was affecting his family's fruit and vegetable export business.
The family's 1,200-hectare farm north-west of Cairo mainly supplies supermarket chains in Britain, the Netherlands and Germany.
“The heat is forcing us to delay planting crops and is reducing our productivity,” Mr El Beltagy told The National.
“You can no longer make accurate forecasts because of climate change. In fact, the very act of trying to make weather predictions has become very difficult. That's a problem.”
F1 drivers' standings
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes 281
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 247
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes 222
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull 177
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 138
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull 93
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 86
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 56
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Look north
BBC business reporters, like a new raft of government officials, are being removed from the national and international hub of London and surely the quality of their work must suffer.
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
2017%20RESULTS%3A%20FRENCH%20VOTERS%20IN%20UK
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFirst%20round%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EEmmanuel%20Macron%3A%2051.1%25%3Cbr%3EFrancois%20Fillon%3A%2024.2%25%3Cbr%3EJean-Luc%20Melenchon%3A%2011.8%25%3Cbr%3EBenoit%20Hamon%3A%207.0%25%3Cbr%3EMarine%20Le%20Pen%3A%202.9%25%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESecond%20round%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EEmmanuel%20Macron%3A%2095.1%25%3Cbr%3EMarine%20Le%20Pen%3A%204.9%25%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULTS
5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Turf) 2,200m
Winner: M'A Yaromoon, Jesus Rosales (jockey), Khalifa Al Neydai (trainer)
5.30pm: Khor Al Baghal – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: No Riesgo Al Maury, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6pm: Khor Faridah – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: JAP Almahfuz, Royston Ffrench, Irfan Ellahi
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Mahmouda, Pat Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AS Jezan, George Buckell, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
7.30pm: Khor Laffam – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Dolman, Antonio Fresu, Bhupath Seemar
Specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%20train%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%20and%20synchronous%20electric%20motor%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20power%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E800hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20torque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E950Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEight-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E25.7kWh%20lithium-ion%3Cbr%3E0-100km%2Fh%3A%203.4sec%3Cbr%3E0-200km%2Fh%3A%2011.4sec%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETop%20speed%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E312km%2Fh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20electric-only%20range%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2060km%20(claimed)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Q3%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh1.2m%20(estimate)%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
RESULT
Wolves 1 (Traore 67')
Tottenham 2 (Moura 8', Vertonghen 90 1')
Man of the Match: Adama Traore (Wolves)
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
MATCH INFO
France 3
Umtiti (8'), Griezmann (29' pen), Dembele (63')
Italy 1
Bonucci (36')
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
