Call to use public transport in Oman to save environment

Muscat: Oman’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs (MECA) has advised people in Oman to use more public transportation, rationalise the usage of electricity and water, and preserve the environment by planting trees, after Oman recorded its hottest year in the last five years.
For the first time since 2010, the average temperature in the Sultanate has hit 28.7 degree Celsius in 2015, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information.
According to an official at MECA, global warming is an international problem, which has complex implications on the natural, economic, social and technological systems.
He further said temperatures are expected to continue increasing in the coming years as the long-term goal of keeping the increase in global average to well below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels was set as a goal during the Paris climate conference, in December 2015.
“We need to reduce the human expansion of greenhouse gases and depend more on clean and sustainable energy,” he added.
Furthermore, international reports showed that human activities are the main cause for the change in climate.
MECA said higher temperatures can result in many natural disasters, including heat waves, floods, and drought. Desertification is also one of the impacts of climate change and can be a serious threat to food security, which, ultimately, can end up causing famines in many parts of world.