Egypt Is At Risk Of Losing Its Pyramids And Sphinx Due To Climate Change

Egypt and its ancient wonders are at the mercy of climate change, with scientists estimating that the pyramids and the Sphinx have about a hundred years left before they disappear.
 
Egypt’s Luxor and Alexandria were built by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE and are, unfortunately, situated below sea level.

This places the cities and the ancient artifacts it holds at risk of flooding. Furthermore, the nation is particularly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change due to its arid geography and strategic location along the Mediterranean and the Nile.

Aswan, a city in the south of the country where temperatures frequently exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit, is one area where these changes are being seen.

The Antiquities Museum director at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Hussein Abdel Basir, warned the Mirror that this prediction might occur within the next 30 years. If that were to happen, Luxor’s ancient temple complex and Alexandria’s Qaitbay Citadel from the fifteenth century would both be drowned as well.

Basir also mentions how weather catastrophes and air pollution might jeopardize the integrity of priceless antiquities.

 
The Valley of the Kings in Luxor has already begun to show signs of deterioration brought on by moisture. Additionally, the groundwater level has increased, and loose soil has accumulated surrounding the Sphinx as a result of agricultural irrigation from settlements near the pyramids.

The National Climate Change Strategy, which will put aside money to conserve these monuments, was established by the Egyptian government to counteract this. That does not take away from the fact that the world will still need to work together to protect Egypt and all other nations from succumbing to climate change.
 
 
 

[via Robb Report and ARTnews.com, Photo 159619110 © Anton Aleksenko | Dreamstime.com]