CLIMATE WATCH- Egyptian historical landmarks might get damaged by climate change: Egyptian historical monuments and archaeological sites in Upper Egypt are under threat of deterotiation because of high temperatures, rising sea levels and floods as a result of climate change, according to a report by Reuters. “I believe that in 100 years all these antiquities will be gone because of climate change,” former Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass told Reuters.

Rising sea levels could also cause serious damage to archaeological sites in Mediterranean cities in 30 years, Monica Hanna, an archaeologist with the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport told Reuters. Air pollution and poor sewage systems in areas close to the historical sites in Egypt are other potential threats, Hanna adds. Although some government initiatives have been put in place to help protect the sites, including a USD 14 mn initiative to protect the Citadel of Qaitbay from coastal erosion, they seem to not be enough to combat the imminent threat, the report adds.