In-Your-Face Climate Change in Lebanon

Just before I arrived in Lebanon, I saw on Facebook photos of the country engulfed in a reddish haze. Around this time of the year, Lebanon occasionally gets heat waves from the deserts east of it, often accompanied by a dusty haze, and I thought it was just another one of those.

This time, as I found out after I arrived, it hadn't been just dust hanging in the air. It had been a full-blown sand storm from Africa (to the southwest) with high winds similar to the ones that plague Arizona, only from much farther away. At other times, Lebanon has been hit by unusually heavy rain that has resulted in flooding and even deaths. Heavy rain has become more common in September; in the past, there rarely would be more than a sprinkle or two late in that month as fall approached. A couple of years ago in September, one torrential front after the other passed over several days, dumping a total that probably exceeded Phoenix's average total for the entire monsoon season. And now, since I arrived in Lebanon on April 12, it has been raining, often heavily, every single day, wreaking havoc with my hiking plans. This is highly unusual for April, at the tail end of the rainy season, and would be considered a long streak even in winter. One plus - it has washed away the dust left over from the African storm.

Here's my guess of what's happening; I did not go online to research it. Lebanon lies at the east end of the Mediterranean and gets its storms from the west. As this inland sea warms up, there is extra evaporation. All that water has to end up somewhere. The mountains of Lebanon intercept it and bring it down as rain. It also could be due to shifting wind patterns. If it is true that global warming may result in more rain at either end of the winter season, that is actually good news, as it will shorten the fire season and nourish vegetation that might get stressed over the increasingly hot, dry summers. Perhaps Lebanon will luck out with climate change and not suffer the fate being predicted for Arizona and the American southwest - a hotter AND drier climate and huge wildfires that, by some long-term forecast, may end up decimating most of Arizona's Ponderosa pine forests.

Many people here who might have casually heard of global warming/climate change agree that "the weather is changing". Hotter, more humid summers are a big complaint by many Lebanese. No one complains about the idea of global warming/climate change being some United Nations or leftist conspiracy to deny "our God-given right" to drive, pollute, ban urban sprawl, and otherwise live a wasteful lifestyle.

As this goes online, there is more thunder and refreshing rain outside.