Land degradation processes prevail in about 50.6 % of the terrestrial ecosystem of Kuwait. This ecosystem which covers about 15,000 km 2 (about 85 % of Kuwait) is dotted by a high number of land degradation hotspots (LDH). A hot spot is a severely degraded area, where land degradation indicators are observable. The main objectives of this study are to detect land degradation hotspots and to quantify the impact of land uses on the natural vegetation and soil types. Detection of land degradation hot spots is a significant prerequisite for Land degradation control. The land degradation hotspots were delineated and characterized using Geographic Information System (ArcGIS S/W 10.5) and satellite image (Landsat 8 of September 2017). A ground truth activity followed the Landsat analyses. The approach of detection and mapping land degradation hotspots is simple and applicable in Kuwait and the surrounding countries. The results of the study showed 58 hotspots with a total area of about 7590.3 Km 2 (50.6 % of the terrestrial environment). The study reveals a significant variation in the areas, land use and indicators of land degradation of the hotspots. The areas range from about 2000 km2 to 1.2 km 2 . In all of the hot spots, the soils, vegetation cover and micro land features are highly degraded due to destructive land use types including overgrazing, offroad vehicles, camping and recreation, and soil mining. The total length of off-road vehicles is around 14,774.67 Km ( 0.98 Km/ Km 2 ) and the percentage of degraded vegetation and disturbed soil was 48.7% and 47% respectively.

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Hazard maps are essential tools to aid decision makers in land-use planning, sustainable infrastructure development, and emergency preparedness. Despite the availability of historical data, there has been no attempt to produce hazard maps for Kuwait. In cooperation with the World Bank, this study investigated the natural and anthropogenic hazards that affect Kuwait. The objective was to assess the hazards that face Kuwait and map the hazards of most concern. Hazard maps depicting the spatial distribution of hazard-prone areas are discussed in this article. Hazard assessment maps were generated using multiple datasets and techniques, including meteorological data, satellite imagery, and GIS. Hazard profiling identified a total of 25 hazards, of which five “priority” hazards were explored in detail: (1) surface water flooding; (2) dust storms and sand encroachment; (3) drought; (4) air pollution; and (5) oil spills. The results of this study can aid decision makers in targeting the hazards of most concern. The developed maps are valuable tools for emergency response and hazard mitigation.

With the rapid of climate change, development of industrialization and urbanization in the world, the level of ozone (O3) concentration in the atmosphere has become a serious problem causes adverse human health effects. Background O3 is defined as the fraction of the O3 present in a given area that is not attributed to anthropogenic sources of local origin. As such, background O3 has several welldocumented sources, both natural and anthropogenic. These include: (a) downward transport of stratospheric O3 through the free troposphere to near the ground level, (b) in situ O3 production from methane emitted from swamps and wetlands reacting with natural NOx (from soils, lightning strikes and downward transport of NO from the stratosphere), (c) in situ production of O3 from reactions of biogenic VOCs with natural NOx and (d) long-range transport of O3 from distant pollutant sources. In this study, we collected the O3 data from air quality monitoring stations for ten years in the state of Kuwait. The O3 status and trends were analysis by using the Open-Air Package. The background level of O3 assessed using the Kolmogorov-Zurbenko (KZ) filter technique. The result shows that the observed levels of O3 background concentrations were high in the urban site. The diurnal variations of O3 at different locations showed a similar trend.

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