It seems like a typical summer day in Downtown, Cairo: pedestrians walk in shirts and T-shirts with the occasional sweat patch visible, and beside them on the roads are cars with ACs maxed out. All foreheads are furrowed trying to resist a dominating sun. Yet this is February, the alleged month of biting cold winds and multi-layered clothing. Instead, its middle ten days witnessed temperatures reaching up to 34 degrees Celsius, and the incident has raised a few sweaty eyebrows. What had happened? Has climate change already caught up with us? Is this to be the norm now? According to the Egyptian Meteorological Authority, nothing out of the ordinary is taking place. “This has nothing to do with climate change,” says Wahid Seoudi, head of the Center for Climate Analysis at the Meteorological Authority. “We've had worse heat waves during past winters reaching 35 degrees Celsius, but most people tend not to remember things like that,” he says. Yet the temperatures between the 10th and 20th of February were still higher than the expected average by about 10 to 12 degrees Celsius. The reason for this, according to Seoudi, is due to a change in atmospheric pressure bringing warmer winds from Egypt's western desert. “That is the cause of this heat wave over the past ten days,” says Seoudi, adding that the anomaly is starting to subside, drawing cooler winds from central and south Europe, as is expected during this time of the year. Forecasted temperatures for the coming days seem to confirm this, with chances of more rain over the coming weekend. As for the underlying cause behind the change in wind direction, meteorology remains an uncertain science. But for many climate experts, prolonged, random heat waves will be an increasing symptom of looming climate change. The trend is already underway across much the world, with an increase in deadly heat waves witnessed in Europe, Australia, USA and South America. Yet for the everyday Egyptian, climate change or no climate change, the temperatures of the past two weeks have been a welcome escape from a generally less popular season. “We're in heaven!” said one Cairene taking in sun rays at Gezira Sporting Club last weekend. “Climate change rocks!” joked another.
