Gaza Israel War’s climate bomb: Emissions skyrocket, surpassing many nations. The environmental cost of conflict is a stark reminder – “Peace is not just about human lives, it’s about the planet’s health too.”
The Gaza-Israel war 2023-2024 has caused the loss of more than 35,000 valuable lives, forceful displacement and suffering of 2.1 million people including children and women. Other than direct harm to human life, it destroyed infrastructure at a large scale. More than 60% of the buildings in the Gaza Strip have been demolished.
Though the war destroyed families and individuals, cities and towns, habitat and landscape in the Gaza Strip, there is much more to it. The destruction caused by this war is not limited to this immediate/visible destruction. This war has profound implications for the environment and climate as well, which will appear over time. The weapons used have contaminated air, water and soil in the region. The residues and impacts of chemical weapons stay on the battlefield for a long period of time, resulting in severe environmental degradation. Some of the impacts of war on the environment and climate are discussed below.
1. Air pollution
Heavy bombing is the main source of air pollution in this war zone. Because of heavy bombing, fire, smoke and dust clouds erupting from demolished buildings, the Gaza Strip primarily suffered from highly polluted air quality.
According to estimates, in only the first two months (7th of October to 7th of December), Israeli bombardment and invasion through land combined caused the generation of 281,000 tons of Carbon Dioxide (CO2), as reported by Benjamin Neimark1. The breakdown of the source of these carbon emissions is as follows.
The total CO2 emissions in only the first two months of the war have exceeded the annual tCO2e emissions of many countries i.e. Dominica, Gambia, Tonga etc. 2
These carbon emissions are equivalent to the burning of 127,000 tons of coal. To give a better understanding of the magnitude of these emissions, I would compare it with the total yearly emissions of 61,087 passenger cars, or the annual electricity use of about 37,467 households in the US. Similarly, it would make up around 10% of the annual emissions of a coal-fired power plant.
Other than the war weapons, the construction of Tunnels in Hamas, and the Israeli Iron Wall have also led to a huge amount of carbon dioxide emissions which combined make up to 450,000 tCO2e. Furthermore, the reconstruction of the buildings demolished in Gaza will also incur a huge carbon cost which is estimated to be 30,000,000 tCO2e.
It’s not only CO2 which is being emitted at a huge rate. There are many other gases which are emitted and generated in significant amount as a result of explosions, fire and use of chemical weapons i.e. CH4, NO2 and Ozone. The bombardment led to the burning of the buildings, especially the industrial facilities causing numerous toxic and hazardous gases to release into the atmosphere.
IQAir, a global organization which provides real-time air quality information from around the globe reported that Ashkhelon (the only air monitoring station near North Gaza) has an Air Quality Index of 121AQI 3 which is unhealthy for sensitive groups. The site IQAir doesn’t have any station in the Gaza Strip, therefore we can assume the air quality in Gaza, based on the air quality index at the nearest station. The concentration of Particulate matter (PM 2.5) is recorded to be 43.8µg/m³, which should not exceed 5µg/m³ (Dated 23rd May 2024).
Though air pollution doesn’t appear as a matter of concern when war costs valuable lives, the toxic air keeps silently and severely damaging human health.
2. Land/soil pollution and contamination
Warfare leaves a trail of devastation on landscapes. The constant movement of troops, demolished buildings, and destroyed infrastructure caused heavy damage to the environment. This is tragically evident in the case of the Gaza-Israel conflict. In the Gaza – Isreal war, hospitals and industrial facilities were bombed which resulted in the release of asbestos and heavy metals, dust and fine particles and toxic waste from hospitals and industries. Improper disposal of toxic and hazardous waste from hospitals and industries ended up polluting the land. Additionally, an estimated 70,000 tons of solid waste now litter Gaza’s streets, further contaminating the soil and waterways4. The improper burial of bodies has also heavily contaminated the land.
Other than this apparent destruction, the ammunition used ends up contaminating the soil for a longer period of time. For example, the explosives used, release depleted uranium5 in the soil. Upon resuspension, it can contaminate air and water and enter the human body. The exposure of such chemicals can lead to diseases like Balkan Syndrome6.
3. Water contamination
Gaza relies on groundwater aquifer namely Coastal Aquifer to fulfil its water needs. This aquifer is primarily recharged by rainfall. A decline of 20-30% in the average rainfall has been witnessed in the region in the last few years, which has led to low aquifer recharge. Additionally, increased demand and seawater intrusion have contaminated this vital water resource. The ongoing war has further exacerbated the situation by destroying desalination plants reducing the overall water supply to 3 litres per person per day. Furthermore, five wastewater treatment plants have ceased operations due to the conflict, leading to untreated wastewater accumulating in the streets. Furthermore, five wastewater treatment plants have ceased operations due to the conflict, leading to untreated wastewater accumulating in the streets. According to Inside Climate News, a significant amount of this untreated wastewater (130,000 cubic meters) is being discharged into the Mediterranean Sea, causing outbreaks of water-related and waterborne diseases7.
4. Habitat destruction and Loss of biodiversity
Warfare’s destructive force extends beyond human casualties. Bombings and other military actions have a devastating impact on wildlife, causing biodiversity loss.
Since the construction of the iron wall (Israel’s fence on the border with Gaza) in 1971, the mobility of wildlife reduced significantly, which has resulted in a drastic decline in biodiversity in the Gaza Strip. On the other hand, the Israeli military uprooted 2.5 million trees (including 1 million olive trees) in occupied Gaza, since 19678. Uprooting olive trees which are an essential component of the habitat of this semi-arid land led to desertification and loss of biodiversity.
Under the conflict 2023-2024, the Israeli military again uprooted 55000 trees and destroyed 17% of the total farmland, as reported by MEMO9. This ongoing fragmentation of natural habitats has further harmed the remaining limited wildlife populations and ecological diversity in the region. According to estimates the war has killed almost 90% of large animals within affected regions.
Impact of Gaza – Israel war on climate change
Every single molecule of GHG released in the air contributes to climate change. Israeli bombing and troop movements in the war have cumulatively emitted 281,000 tCO2e in just two months. An equivalent amount of CO2 is produced by an average coal-fired powerplant in 2 months. The total emissions of GHGs caused by this war in the last 8 months have delivered a double blow to climate change and planet warming.
Secondly, the war has caused significant deforestation in Gaza. Trees act as powerful filters, removing carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas linked to climate change, from the atmosphere. According to a US Department of Agriculture study, a single mature tree can absorb 22-48 pounds of CO2 per year 10. In the Gaza-Israel war, the uprooting of over 55,000 trees, and the destruction of 42% of Gaza’s greenhouse11 represents a significant loss. These trees, if left standing, could have potentially absorbed between 1,210 and 2,640 tons of CO2 in just one year. This deforestation caused by the war has a long-lasting impact, as the lost capacity to capture carbon dioxide acts as an acceleration of climate change. This loss will continue to be felt for years to come. This war highlights the interconnectedness of global issues. Military conflicts not only devastate human lives and infrastructure but also hinder efforts to combat the existential threat of climate change. Moving forward, we need to prioritize peace and diplomacy to prevent further damage to our planet’s health.
- https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4684768 ↩︎
- https://www.worldometers.info/co2-emissions/co2-emissions-by-country/ ↩︎
- ttps://www.iqair.com/israel/southern-district/ashkelon/haogen-st ↩︎
- https://www.newarab.com/analysis/ecocide-gaza-environmental-impact-israels-war#:~:text=Israel’s%20war%20is%20turning%20Gaza%20into%20an%20’open%2Dair%20graveyard’&text=Contamination%20by%20asbestos%20and%20heavy,diseases%20spread%20by%20decomposing%20bodies. ↩︎
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0265931X02000413?via%3Dihub ↩︎
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/balkans ↩︎
- https://insideclimat-enews.org/news/15032024/todays-climate-gaza-israel-sewage-environment-debris-pollution/#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20estimated%20late,%2C%20according%20to%20the%20EPA). ↩︎
- http://www.miftah.org/Doc/Factsheets/Miftah/English/factsheet-OliveTrees.pdf ↩︎
- https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240228-israel-uproots-55000-trees-destroys-9-parks-in-gaza/ ↩︎
- https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2015/03/17/power-one-tree-very-air-we-breathe#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Arbor%20Day,the%20very%20air%20we%20breathe. ↩︎
- https://www.axios.com/2024/04/07/gaza-infrastructure-land-damage-israel-six-months-war ↩︎