Prof. Fotini Christia and grad students Elizabeth Dekeyser and Dean Knox write for The Washington Post about how they surveyed religious Shiites from Iran and Iraq concerning their views on religion, politics and more. The authors write that the survey, which was conducted during an annual pilgrimage, “presents a unique template for surveying hard-to-reach populations in an increasingly mobile world.”
Prof. Elfatih Eltahir speaks with the BBC’s Ed Butler about whether desalination could be an effective remedy for water shortages in the Middle East. Eltahir notes that current desalination methods use “a lot of energy to basically distill water…and could have very high costs and could contribute to the potential for global warming.”
Prof. Barry Posen speaks with Tom Ashbrook of NPR’s On Point about how the United States should respond to the threat of ISIS. “If we can deprive ISIS of the illusion of success, the illusion of vitality, then this beacon role [that ISIS serves] is going to become a lot duller,” says Posen.
In an op-ed for The New York Times, Prof. Roger Petersen argues that the U.S. should use political leverage to pressure regional actors to combat ISIS. “Playing politics entails costs, but bombing only promises stalemate and 'boots on the ground' involves untenable risks,” writes Petersen.
In an article for USA Today, Colin Chilcoat highlights a study co-authored by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir that indicates that climate change could cause the Persian Gulf to experience severe heat with greater regularity. Greenhouse-gas buildup could raise “temperatures to intolerable seasonal highs and [increase] the frequency and severity of extreme heat waves,” writes Chilcoat.
“A study predicting deadly heat waves in the Persian Gulf by the century’s end has underscored concerns about the effects of rising global temperatures on cities in other parts of the world, including the United States,” writes Joby Warrick of a new study co-authored by MIT researchers in a piece for The Washington Post.
Brandon Miller reports for CNN on an MIT study that indicates that climate change could drastically increase the frequency of extreme heat events in the Persian Gulf. By 2100 temperatures could be “31°C on an average summer day and the most extreme days could exceed the lethal value of 35°C,” writes Miller.
Doyle Rice writes for USA Today about a new MIT study that finds evidence that heat in the Persian Gulf region could reach intolerable levels due to climate change. The researchers found that “extreme heat that might occur 1 out of 20 days now will be the normal summer day of 2070 and beyond.”
Nitya Rajan reports for The Huffington Post on a new study co-authored by MIT researchers that found that climate change could raise temperatures in the Persian Gulf region to fatal levels by the end of this century. “Beyond a certain threshold, the human body loses the ability to get rid of heat,” writes Rajan.
A new study by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir indicates that climate change could cause the Persian Gulf region to warm to lethal levels of heat and humidity, reports Alan Kasujja for BBC’s Newsday. “The ability of a human body to adapt to that kind of environment becomes very limited,” explains Eltahir.
In a new study, Prof. Elfatih Eltahir warns that unmitigated climate change could increase the frequency of high-temperature events in the Persian Gulf by 2100, writes Chris Arsenault for Reuters. "If greenhouse gas emissions continue on their current trajectory, then temperatures in that region will reach levels intolerable to humans," says Eltahir.
Research by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir indicates that, if climate change goes unchecked, the Persian Gulf could see deadly high temperatures by 2100, writes Damian Carrington for The Guardian. Gulf countries “have a vital interest in supporting measures that would help reduce the concentration of CO2 in the future,” says Eltahir.
New Scientist reporter Fred Pearce writes about a new study by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir that indicates the Persian Gulf region could see lethally high temperatures by the end of the century. The study predicts the region could see temperatures rise to levels where “the human body can no longer get rid of heat,” explains Eltahir.
Prof. Elfatih Eltahir’s new study predicts that "temperatures as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit would become the norm during the summer in the low-lying region of the Persian Gulf,” writes Michael Casey for Fox News. Eltahir’s findings were based on several climate models.
New research by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir indicates that climate change could result in lethal heat waves in the Persian Gulf, according to the Associated Press. "You can go to a wet sauna and put the temperature up to 35 (Celsius) or so,” explains Eltahir. “You can bear it for a while, now think of that at an extended exposure."