In the summer months, like this August 8, 2017 photo, Abu Qir sees a rejuvenation of a few meters of coastline as sand creates natural barriers from the sea. But man-made activities, like groundwater extraction to create new green space, has mixed seawater with drinking water, thereby rendering both the land and the water useless.
A series of images commissioned by the Swedish Institute in Alexandria for the Climate Networking Conference 2017 depicting ways in which climate change has already started to affect life in Alexandria and the Nile Delta.
A horse feeding from a disused boat in Alexandria’s boatyard, August 9, 2017. Some buildings in Alexandria are constructed dangerously close to the shoreline. Saltwater intrusion into freshwater aquifers has created alarming levels of structural instability in many neighborhoods. Building collapses are a regular occurrence, displacing people from their homes. According to the World Bank, Alexandria and the Nile Delta is one of the most vulnerable areas in the world to climate change. A one meter rise in sea levels will have a catastrophic effect on the lives and livelihoods of the people living in Alexandria and the Nile Delta.
A farmer holds up sea shells in his agricultural land, August 11, 2017. The seashells are what remain from sea water that seeped from Lake Burullus, resulting in salt water intrusion on agricultural land due to a rise in sea and ground water levels. In some areas, this has completely inundated the land and in others it has increased the salinity so much it’s no longer possible to cultivate crops. Salt water intrusion from lake and sea level rise is an immediate threat to the farming lands in the Nile Delta. According to the World Bank, Alexandria and the Nile Delta is one of the most vulnerable areas in the world to climate change. A one meter rise in sea levels will have a catastrophic effect on the lives and livelihoods of the millions of people living in Alexandria and the Nile Delta.
A farmer shows fresh water, but many parts of Ibees’ agricultural waste water is not being pumped, causing land to block up with agricultural waste. This slowly salivates the land and makes it uncultivable for crops. Farmers in Ibees already complain that they will not be able to grow rice in next year’s crop cycle.
ElMax, a fishing neighbourhood in Egypt’s port city of Alexandria, August 10, 2017. ElMax is a low-lying stretch of land built on either side of the Khandak AlArab canal which feeds into the Mediterranean Sea. Homes are often only a few centimetres above water level and during the winter rainy season this impoverished fishing neighbourhood is often inundated with water, flooding the lower levels of people’s homes. Rising sea levels and more frequent flooding of this area has prompted the government to build alternative housing close by and urge residents to move. According to the World Bank, Alexandria and the Nile Delta is one of the most vulnerable areas in the world to climate change. A one meter rise in sea levels will have a catastrophic effect on the lives and livelihoods of the millions of people living in Alexandria and the Nile Delta.
Alexandria’s Bir Massoud neighbourhood has natural cliff barriers to protect its receding coastline. Man-made construction and coastline erosion have made areas like these a rarity along Egypt’s northern coast line. Natural protections against sea-level rise due to climate change have dwindled, exposing millions of people living along the coast to risks associated with sea level rise, including ground water intrusion and structural damages of dwellings.
Agricultural land that has turned in to a dry salt bed which will eventually become a fish farm near Lake Burullus.
Lake Burullus, one of three large lakes in Egypt's north. The government has been fighting the rise in the sea level by creating barriers around the lake to save the surrounding agricultural land from salt water seepage.
Alexandria and the Nile Delta is ranked one of the top ten cities around the world with an acute threat from sea level rise. Millions of people live along Egypt’s northern shore lines, and create their livelihoods from the sea and agricultural plains more inland. A one meter rise in sea levels will have catastrophic affects to lives and livelihoods in Egypt.
Children play in a bay at a newly fortified corniche walkway at Bir Massoud in Alexandria, Egypt, August 8, 2017. The city invested in wave breakers and seawalls, but a rise in ground water levels, coupled by a rise in sea levels threaten the already crumbling infrastructure of the city. The millions of people who live in Alexandria and along the low-lying Delta plain are at risk of displacement, as well as loss of livelihoods. A half-meter rise in sea level would have devastating effects on the people and the landscape of the region's most populous country.
Young ballerinas drink water during a photoshoot at the Montaza Palace Gardens, August 8, 2017, the hottest month with average temperatures often reaching above 30C. A three degree rise in in global warming would have devastating effects as sea levels rise. Alexandria, home to millions of people, will see its shores swallowed by the sea with only a half meter rise in sea level, if measures aren't taken tackle the effects climate change.
A farmer tugs at the ear of a goat on grazing land near Burullus Lake in Egypt's Delta region, August 11, 2017. Agriculture and grazing land is under threat of salt water intrusion from both the lake and the sea on this small stretch of land. Some farmland is already suffering from the effects of saltwater intrusion, making it unusable for crop cultivation and turning what was once agricultural land in to fish farms. Rising sea levels due to climate change along Egypt's Mediterranean coastline and salt water intrusion could have an affect on food security for the region's most populous country.
A father and son ride a horse near the 15th Century Qaitbay Citadel, which was built on the exact site of the ancient Alexandria Lighthouse, in Alexandria, Egypt August 10, 2017. Historical sites like these are under threat from rising sea levels in Alexandria with some sites already suffering damage to their foundations and lower walls. Seawater inundation was found at the base of the Citadel and the stronger waves battering the sides of the citadel bore holes through its walls. Alexandria is one of the world's most vulnerable cities from climate change, affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions of people who live in the city and the Delta region.