Area:

1 001 450 km2

Population:

84 Million

Climate:

The general climate of Egypt is dry, hot, and desert. During the winter season (December-February), the lower Egypt’s climate is mild with some rain, primarily over the coastal areas. The upper Egypt’s climate is practically rainless with warm sunny days and cool nights. During the summer season (June-August), the climate is hot and dry all over Egypt.  Average rainfall is about 200 mm at northern coasts, decreasing southwards to about 50-100 mm in the Nile Delta region. Around Cairo, the average rainfall amount ranges between 10-30 mm, varying from year to year.

Natural Resources:

The production sector of Egypt makes up 41% of GDP while its services sector makes up to 59%. Agricultural activities in Egypt engage about 55% of the labor force, while contributing about 14% to the GDP. Egypt’s tourism industry contributes approximately 6% while oil and gas accounts for 12% of the GDP.

Agriculture:

Field crops cultivated in Egypt include maize, rice, cotton and sugarcane as main summer crops, while alfalfa, wheat, barley, green bean, clover, and sugar beet are the main winter field crops. Livestock production occupies a prominent stage in agricultural activities. Meat production is much greater than milk production in Egypt. The main animal types are cows, buffaloes, sheep, goats and camels.

Climate Vulnerabilities:

There is a general trend towards warming of the air temperature, with increases in the number of hazy days, the misty days, turbidity of the atmosphere and hot days. In recent decades, changes in climate parameters have been observed and analyzed data for the period 1961-2000 show that the mean maximum air temperature to have a positive trend of + 0.34°C per decade. The mean minimum air temperature has a positive trend of + 0.31°C per decade and the mean air temperature has a positive trend of + 0.017°C per decade. Recently, Egypt has been suffering from an increased severity and frequency of sand storms, dense haze and flooding. These extreme events have had negative socio-economic impacts on almost all sectors such as health, agriculture, livestock, environment, and tourism. Other areas of concern include sea level rise consuming the Nile Delta, Salt water intrusion and its potential impacts on ground water quality in the coastal zone.

Source:

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/egync2.pdf

Terminologies:

Alfalfa: a perennial flowering plant in the pea family-Fabaceae. The English name is adopted from the Spanish, originally alfalfez, which in turn is derived from the Arabic al-fisfisa meaning fresh fodder. Normally the plant lives 4 to 8 years, but can live more than twenty years, depending on variety and climate. The plant grows to a height of up to 1 meter (3 ft), and has a deep root system, sometimes stretching more than 15 meters (49 ft) this makes it very resilient, especially to droughts.

Nile Delta: the delta formed in Northern Egypt (Lower Egypt) where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas and stretches from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the east; it covers 240 km of Mediterranean coastline and is a rich agricultural region. From north to south the delta is approximately 160 km in length.