The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has stated that Libya has been facing the threat of climate change for decades.
The long-standing dry spells and extreme weather conditions have severely impacted food production, water sources, and human life. Rising global temperatures and an increasing number of extreme weather events, have resulted in a bleak-looking future for many Libyan farmers, according to the OCHA.
Fathi Mazen, a local farmer in the Al-Zahra area, which was once filled with lush green farms, struggles as the land is now barren and dry. “Most farms went out of business. Many sold their land,” Fathi told OCHA.
Numerous issues have arisen such as a particularly dry winter, continuous heatwaves, acute power cuts, the rapid spread of COVID-19, and continuous damage to the water system leading to the drying of the Wadi Kaam Dam, threatens people’s lives, and time is running out to act.