The environmental expert and climatologist, Dr. Saïd Chakri, discusses in an interview with MAP the meteorological disturbances affecting Morocco, their extreme effects due to climate change, and their negative and positive impacts.
1- How does climate change contribute to the intensification of the extreme effects of meteorological disturbances?
What Morocco has experienced in recent days is the result of meteorological disturbances that can be considered a natural phenomenon. However, due to certain factors, particularly climate change, these disturbances now have extreme impacts, manifesting particularly in significant amounts of rainfall concentrated over a short period.
The General Directorate of Meteorology explained that this is an isolated cold upper-level depression, known as a cut-off type, hovering over a vast area of Morocco. It is a very cold air mass, generating meteorological disturbances that are difficult to predict accurately, some of which may occur suddenly, as happened in Safi.
This phenomenon observed in Morocco has already occurred in several countries. One only needs to recall the floods in Valencia, Spain, in 2024. It is practically the same phenomenon, which some specialists refer to as an isolated cold depression.
Although this depression is stable over Morocco, it has unpredictable effects, necessitating vigilance and caution.
2 – What are the negative and positive impacts of these meteorological disturbances?
Such climatic phenomena often lead to damage, especially when they coincide with aggravating factors on the ground, such as lack of preparedness, weak infrastructure, and insufficient awareness of risks. This requires work on multiple fronts to address it, including proactive planning, strengthening infrastructure, and raising citizen awareness about the importance of responding positively to weather alerts, accurately assessing the situation, and avoiding risky behaviors.
The extreme effects of meteorological disturbances, exacerbated by climate change, cause heavy rainfall in a very short time, which significantly reduces reaction time and can contribute to an increase in the damage toll related to severe weather.
However, these disturbances also have positive aspects. The substantial amounts of rain undoubtedly contribute to the replenishment of groundwater and surface water resources, especially considering Morocco has experienced acute rainfall deficits for several years. These rains will also ensure a good start to the agricultural season.
3 – How can we adapt to the extreme effects of meteorological disturbances?
It is necessary to take the required precautions at the infrastructure level and implement a proactive policy, particularly in urban planning. Climate change is now a lived reality that amplifies the magnitude of the extreme effects of isolated depressions in ways that sometimes make it impossible to predict the intensity and extent.
Global warming promotes the evaporation of large amounts of water. The higher the Earth’s temperature rises, the more the presence of cold depressions leads to intense, short-lasting rains, accompanied by severe winds.
Climate change is, therefore, a reality that must be integrated into urban planning and land use, through the development of accurate maps of areas exposed to flood risks, prohibiting construction on or near riverbeds and waterways, strengthening investments in infrastructure, and raising citizen awareness about the appropriate behaviors to adopt in the event of meteorological disturbances. It would also be relevant to establish a multidimensional national strategy for preventing and managing this type of disaster.
MAP Ecology