Rainfall in Saudi Arabia increases by 53 percent in one year
Last Updated on December 31, 2024 5:45 am
Rainfall is increasing in the desert country of Saudi Arabia. The country’s Central Bureau of Statistics said that the amount of rainfall in Saudi Arabia in 2023 was 53 percent more than in the previous year, 2022.
The increase in rainfall has also led to increased flooding. In 2023, 15.64 million cubic meters of flood water flowed through Saudi rivers and canals, which is 164.1 percent more than in 2022.
Since rainfall is rare in Saudi Arabia, a desert country, the country meets its water needs by desalinizing seawater and recycling used water. In 2023, the production of reusable water in Saudi Arabia increased by 13.3 percent compared to 2022.
The area of protected areas on land and sea also increased in 2023. Last year, the country’s protected land increased by 361,000 square kilometers, which is 7.1 percent compared to 2022. In addition, this amount of land is 18.1 percent of the country’s total land area.
In the same year, the area of marine protected areas increased by 14,000 square kilometers, which is 17.7 percent more than in 2022.
Saudi Arabia has started a greening project by creating parks in protected areas. According to the statistics office, the area of the country’s parks increased by 340 million square meters in 2023. And 2.6 million new trees have been planted in those parks.
In 2017, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was nominated as the heir to the throne (Crown Prince). He is also currently the Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. After taking power, the Crown Prince launched a project called the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) in 2021. The main objectives of the formation of this SGI were to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, increase the use of environmentally friendly renewable energy, reduce the amount of desert areas and increase the spread of green areas.
By 2023, the SGI aims to fully activate renewable, environmentally friendly means by eliminating the use of fossil fuels in the power generation sector. If Saudi Arabia succeeds in this goal, the rate of carbon emissions into the world’s atmosphere will decrease by at least 4 percent.
Source: Gulf News