Sirens are sounding

Sirens are sounding.

The heat is intensifying, the humidity is stifling, and the sea is closed to vacationers. The sirens are sounding to warn us of the impending danger.

For weeks, there have been warnings and bans on entering the sea along the beaches due to the water temperature, high waves, and the risk of heat stress, which can occur even in the water. An unusual scene at this time of year.

 All over the world, the same images are repeated: intense heat waves, uncontrolled forest fires, and unseasonably heavy rains. The seasons no longer follow their order, and the weather is no longer predictable. Millions of people feel a clear shift in weather patterns and temperatures, in cities and countryside, in the north and south alike.

This climate disruption did not come out of nowhere. For decades, major industrialized nations have continued to pollute the atmosphere without a real commitment to reducing emissions. Developing countries, meanwhile, are paying the price: drought, resource shortages, and declining food production.

Since the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015, pledges to reduce emissions and transition to clean energy have been repeated. But the reality is different. Implementation is slow, and the commitments emerging from climate conferences,  Sharm el-Sheikh, Dubai and Azerbaijan, remain stuck on paper.

As the Brazil conference approaches by the end of the year, the question remains: When will promises be turned into action?

Climate change has already begun and will not wait. In many parts of the world, soil is weakening, seawater is creeping toward land, and people's lives are disrupted by unpredictable weather. Many families are reorganizing their days based on the temperature and the hours when they can go outside or turn on the air conditioning.

Anxiety has become a part of everyday conversation. In homes, in schools, on farms, and on beaches, people are wondering: What's happening? What's next?

In Egypt, despite the largely stable electricity grid, fears of overload persist, especially with the increased use of air conditioning. Awareness is emerging and behavior is changing, but this alone is not enough to confront the crisis.

What we are experiencing today is not just a weather disturbance, but a global transformation that requires a collective response. A crisis that cannot be resolved by individual decisions, but by genuine international solidarity based on justice and effective participation in solutions, not simply slogans.

The sirens have sounded, but no one is listening or responding.

A new era is taking shape. We must either confront it with awareness and responsibility, or let it surprise us with irreparable consequences.