Supreme Council of Culture Holds Symposium on "Climate Change"

A symposium titled "Climate Change...Where to?" was held by the Geography and Environment Committee of the Supreme Council of Culture under the patronage of Dr. Nevine El Kelany, Minister of Culture, and Dr. Hisham Azmy, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Culture, with Dr. Attia Tantawi as its rapporteur.

The symposium was moderated by Dr. Fathi Abdel Aziz Abo Radi, a former dean of the Faculty of Arts at Alexandria University and a member of the Geography and Environment Committee.

The following individuals participated in the symposium: Dr. Shaker Mohammad Abo Al-Maati, a committee member and professor of climate at the Agricultural Research Center; Engineer Sherif Abdel Rahim, the head of the Central Department of Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment and the national focal point for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; Dr. Adel Abdullah Suleiman, a committee member and an expert in environmental management and biodiversity at the Ministry of Environment; and Dr. Magdy Tawfiq Khalil, a committee member and a professor of environment at the Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University.

During the symposium, Dr. Radi emphasized that this was the sixth symposium on climate change held by the Geography and Environment Committee, and that everyone agrees that climate change is a global phenomenon that has been felt since the Industrial Revolution due to humanity's burning of large amounts of fossil fuels and petroleum.

He added: "Although scientists' interpretations differ, there are some phenomena that are not subject to scientific research, such as the strange phenomenon that occurred on August 10, 1944."

Radi further mentioned a number of storms and hurricanes in places that had never experienced these types of phenomena before, citing weather conditions that vary between cold and high temperatures in a single day. He also alluded to the role of the United Nations and the climate conferences that have issued reports proposing solutions to the crisis.

In turn, Al-Maaty spoke about the gradual change that occurred in the climate, which has transformed from a phenomenon with limited impact to a phenomenon that is out of control and affecting everything.

He highlighted how the agricultural sector is one of the most affected sectors by climate change, and official dates for planting some crops have changed, requiring farmers to adhere to new dates set by the state to ensure the best results. 

Furthermore, Al-Maaty explained the mechanism of resisting the phenomenon of extreme warming, which has begun, and how the year 2023 was the hottest in history.

He also mentioned that this had many effects on agriculture, such as the appearance of unknown insects that arrived in Egypt through other African countries, and how the appearance of insects and pests is no longer seasonal.