With the rising summer heat, Zeina Abdu, an Abu Dhabi based mother, is set on an adventure to climb Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe, next week in an effort to raise awareness about climate change, a UAE daily reported.
The snowy mountain’s receding condition, which is caused by the global warming, is similar to the state of other glaciers across the world.
“In the past 20 years, the Chamonix valley has witnessed important shifts in glaciers’ cycle,” Abdu told The National.
The longer winters and colder autumns used to allow the ice on the 4,810 meters glacier to regenerate in order for it to reach higher peaks. Now, however, the weather is too warm causing the mountain to disintegrate slowly, which is currently losing an average of 10 meters every year. A condition which Abdu believes is, and indeed should be, quite alarming.
According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), climate change involves economic, health, safety, food production and security dimensions. “It is the major, overriding environmental issue of our time, and the single greatest challenge facing environmental regulators.”
Being a Corporate Social Responsibility consultant, Abdu also incorporates her believes into her professional life on a daily basis. The expedition is one of many for the enthusiastic environmentalist.
She climbed higher mountains such as the 6,189 meter Island Peak in Nepal last November and spent two weeks in Antarctica in March. Her trips often bear environmental objectives.
In Nepal, Abdu encountered how unfeasible water is to the local residents. This is a striking comparison in contrast with Abu Dhabi, which is one of the highest per capita water consumption regions in the world, scoring an average consumption of 550 liters of water per person every day.
Dr. Mohammed Dawoud, water resources manager at the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, reportedly said: “This consumption, combined with the predicted population growth in Abu Dhabi to 3.5 million in 2030, means we could face severe water shortages in the future, and need to rethink about water usage efficiency now.”
According to Water.org, an average of one billion people currently lack access to clean water around the world.
Climate change alters precipitation patterns globally melting glaciers and worsening conditions of both droughts and floods, greatly contributing to the water crisis
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