How Desperate Gazans Survive Daily Blackouts Exacerbated by Climate Change
Every night, Gaza City is plunged into darkness, except for the faint glimmer of the windows of the lucky few who have generators.
A Palestinian woman works inside the kitchen of her house during power cuts in Khan Younis in the southern of Gaza Strip on March 15, 2014. Photo by Anadolu Images.
W
ael Khoudary, a 60-year-old patient who relies on a nebulizer to inhale his medication, is one of many Gazans impacted by the new reality of climate change. The constant power outages that have persisted for more than 16 years prevent him from taking the necessary medication regularly.
“I must use the nebulizer once or twice a day. But when the power is out, imagine what happens next,” laments Wael.
Wael is used to such power outages; when his home loses power, he can hardly afford to pay for transportation to the closest hospital.
The Gaza Strip is a densely populated Palestinian territory occupied by Israel. Israel maintains a blockade on Gaza since 2007 which has had a significant impact on its economy and infrastructure, including the Gaza Strip’s electricity supply.
Israel controls several entry points and border crossings for goods and fuels into Gaza, including the supply of electricity. Due to the blockade, Gaza’s electricity infrastructure is heavily dependent on imports from the Israeli occupiers. The main power plant in Gaza, which is capable of producing electricity locally, has been operating well below its capacity due to limited fuel and restrictions on the import of spare parts.
According to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the Gaza Strip has faced a sixteen-year-long Israeli siege. Recently the situation worsened when the Israeli government restricted the electricity supply, inflicting further collective punishment on the Palestinian people.
The siege has severely impacted all aspects of life, with hospitals forced to postpone non-urgent surgeries and prematurely release patients. The lack of reliable power also poses life-threatening risks for those dependent on dialysis machines and newborns, while nights become engulfed in complete darkness due to power restrictions.
“A Pitch-Black Sauna”
Ibrahim Hasan, a father of two, finds solace in taking his small family to the beach to escape the stifling daytime heat, while thousands seek refuge there from the oppressive temperatures at night as well. Many families in Gaza adopt this strategy to survive the extreme weather conditions.
“I can never stand to spend even a single second inside my house during the heat of the day,” Ibrahim explains. “I accompany my wife and children to the beach until almost midnight every day.”
Ibrahim compares power outages at home in Gaza to spending time in a sauna in a pitch-black room.
This year, around two million Palestinians will endure scorching temperatures over 35.2°C, deprived of air conditioning or any means of cooling, exposing them to perilous living conditions.
Each night, Gaza City is cloaked in darkness, except for the faint glimmer of windows from the fortunate few who own generators. These generators, few and far between, are a lifeline for hospital patients and represent the only hope for access to water.
Chronic electricity shortages have plagued the Gaza Strip for the past ten years, making the already precarious living circumstances worse. The continuous power outage has had a negative impact on Gaza’s already unstable economy, particularly the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, and has severely limited accessibility to basic services, such as health, water, and sanitation.
In the face of such challenges, Gazans are courageously enduring each day, navigating life on the edge of surviving the realities of climate change and a prolonged electricity crisis.
