Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a byproduct of combustion processes. They are common pollutants in oil-producing countries because fossil fuel processing generates PAHs that associate with dust. Airborne particles containing PAHs are transported into houses during dust storms, which are common in the arid oil-producing countries, and consequently the children and adults in the household are exposed to PAHs in indoor house dust. The goal of this study was to present a systematic survey of PAHs in indoor house dust in Kuwait. The PAHs concentrations and composition of indoor house dust was determined, along with their probable source and the potential carcinogenic risks. Total PAHs concentrations (ƩPAH) were, on average (±standard deviation) 1112 ± 347 μg/kg and ranged from 450 to 2242 μg/kg. Heavier congeners (4–6 ring PAHs) represented 61% of the ƩPAH. Petroleum combustion and traffic emissions were the major source of PAHs, based on the isomeric ratios of PAHs in indoor house dust. The incremental lifetime cancer risks (ILCRs) of exposure to PAHs in indoor house dust was 2.23 × 10⁻³ (95% CI: 1.99 × 10⁻³ – 2.48 × 10⁻³) for children and 2.15 × 10⁻³ (95% CI: 1.94 × 10⁻³ – 2.37 × 10⁻³) for adults, exceeding the US EPA safe limit of 1 × 10⁻⁶. Therefore, exposure to PAHs present in indoor house dust increases the cancer risk for children and adults in Kuwait.

Microplastics (MP), the debris that collectively refers to plastic fragments and particles of <5 mm in size within marine environments, has been the subject of interest within the past decade. Evidence of its occurrence and abundance, has been recorded in this communication after examining gastrointestinal specimens of eight commercially available fish species common to the Arabian (Persian) Gulf acquired locally from the State of Kuwait. The species studied belonged to different trophic levels, and the specimens were subjected to Micro Raman and Micro Fourier Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) in Attenuated Reflective Mode (ATR) to determine the presence and type of polymer of the MP. The detected MP set a president for the first time in the examined fish species within the State of Kuwait, which are of immense commercial importance. Various particles were detected, and three MP particles (fragments) were detected within the guts of Acanthopagrus latus, Eleutheronemaa tetradactylum and Lutjanus quinquelineatus. Based on the nature and behaviour of these particular fish types which prefer to stay in muddy waters and sheltered lagoons, it is suspected that common primary sources of MP (i.e. waste fragmentation) have led to passive/active intake (e.g. detritus ingestion) of these particles (fragments) by these species of fish in Kuwait.

The Arabian or Persian Gulf is recognized as one of the warmest estuaries globally. The sea surface temperature (SST) has been utilized in several studies to gauge the global warming associated with climate change. In the current investigation we present detailed in situ SST measurements for five consecutive years (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) in the northwest of the Gulf, specifically in Kuwait Bay. Results of data analyses were compared with the historical records for the region, revealing that the SST reached an extreme level never previously recorded either in the Gulf. The extreme SST in Kuwait Bay reached 37.6 °C, recorded by the offshore station KISR01 located in the middle of the Bay. The event was associated with heatwave, neap tides, and an extended period of Kous winds which are characterized by high humidity levels and accompanied by large-scale intermittent fish kill incidents that extended the full length of the Kuwait coastline. Several fish kill incidents were reported also at the northern edge of the Gulf along Shatt Al Arab stretch in Iraq. The species found dead during the incident varied considerably, unlike those found in the frequent summer incidents. The records presented in this study may provide evidence to the effects of global warming, aid further research, and encourage the concerned international government bodies to deliver urgent environmental policies.

Hypoxia is often thought of as the key factor responsible for fish kill events in coastal areas but fish kill events are too complex to be governed by a single factor. The events are influenced by a combination of chemical, biological and physical processes. Hydrodynamics play a key role in understanding the formation of hypoxia in shallow waters. This study aims to identify the settings of the physical forces that lead to a large-scale depletion of dissolved oxygen in Kuwait Bay at the northwest of the Arabian Gulf. The assessment, made with a validated three-dimensional numerical model (Alosairi and Alsulaiman, 2019), revealed that the pollution from the outfalls leads to nearfield depletion of dissolved oxygen but has only a minor effect on the bay-scale dissolved oxygen. This is a result of the strong dynamics of Kuwait Bay, which mixes the pollutant rapidly before it is transported seawards. Offshore, a low dynamic region has been identified near Jahra Bay which is susceptible to occasional dissolved oxygen depletion. Assessment of the physical forces revealed that the density-driven current and, to a greater extent the wind regime, controlled the formation of a hypoxic parcel near Jahra Bay. The combination of neap tides and low mixed winds reduced mixing and enabled the longer residence times of Kuwait Bay. These are the most critical circumstances, as the average dissolved oxygen can be reduced by 50% during summer. The circumstance resulting in low dynamics near Jahra Bay were also found to be effective in explaining algal blooms.

Microplastic pollution status in Kuwait coastal areas was assessed A total of 44 intertidal locations were sampled for beach sediment. Short trawls (40) were conducted. In addition, 87 fish and mussels gastrointestinal contents were examined. Microplastics were characterized by Raman spectroscopy. Contrary to the expectation very few microplastic particles were found. Only 37 MPs were detected in beach sediments at 15 locations. Seawater trawls indicated that MPs were low in the numbers. MPs were found in just two samples from Kuwait Bay and also in two samples from the southern areas. In biota, only 3 pieces of plastics were recovered from gastrointestinal tracks of hamour fish. The identified MPs were dominantly polypropylene, polyethylene and polystyrene. It appeared that the microplastic levels in sediment, water and biota were much lower compared to published values from adjoining areas, however, were comparable to the absolute numbers of particles from Qatar and Oman.

There is limited information on the effect of characteristics of soil in the arid regions on the transport of pollutants. Al-Qurain landfill site is located about 1.5 km from the Arabian Gulf shoreline in Kuwait. The site was operated as an open dump and was designed without a liner or leachate collection system. This study was performed after 35 years of the site closure to investigate the quality of soil, leachate, and groundwater in its vicinity. A total of 25 test boreholes and 17 observation wells were used for the investigation. Analysis of soil, leachate, and groundwater samples shows high concentrations of organics (COD), nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus), heavy metals, and minerals. Aging of the landfill has its impact on performance of landfill which was reflected on the characteristics of soil, leachate, and groundwater. The principal pollutants in leachate were COD, ammonia, and heavy metals as landfill age increased. A good indicator of landfill aging was the very low (0.04) BOD/COD ratio and BOD decay rate constant of 0.027/year. Water samples were also heavily polluted and their organic content ranged between 9 and 255 mg/L as BOD and 38 and 15,052 mg/L as COD. Solids levels in the water samples from the observation wells were generally higher than those typically reported in groundwater. The results showed that the mobility of the heavy metal was largely element-dependent. The organic content of the landfill played an important role in such mobility. This suggests segregation of waste disposed in landfills and replacing the open dumps by sanitary landfills to avoid such high long-term pollution that affects the site rehabilitation plans.

Natural resource-rich countries transfer more sources to military expenditures due to extreme security concerns. As public revenues have declined due to the decline in oil prices, military expenditures have been cut in many countries. Nevertheless, this is not valid for all countries. Even in some countries, despite the decrease in oil prices and volatility, military expenditures increase. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between volatility in oil prices and military expenditures in GCC countries (United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Oman). The analysis period was determined differently for each country depending on the availability of data. UAE and Qatar were excluded from the analysis as the defense expenditures data of these countries could not be provided regularly. ARDL model was preferred for the research. According to the bound test results, there is a cointegration relationship between the variables in all countries. Besides, the long-term results showed that the volatility in oil prices in all countries, except for Bahrain, positively affects military expenditures. The error correction model indicated that there is a reverse relationship between oil price volatility and military expenditures. These findings indicated that despite the volatility in oil prices, military expenditures in GCC countries are not reduced.

Atmospheric radioactive airborne released from several natural and artificial sources can travel for long distances and disperse in different directions. Both the physical and chemical characteristics of the atmospheric aerosols control this movement. The concentrations of ²¹⁰Pb, ²¹⁰Po, ⁷Be, ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs radionuclides in the ground surface air were determined in three particle sizes (2.4–10.2, 0.73–2.4 and less than 0.73 μm). High-volume air samples were collected from five different locations representing the five governorates of Kuwait using high-volume air samplers connected to a five-stage cascade impactor. The radioactivity concentrations of almost all fallout radionuclides were concentrated on the fine particle size fractions. The cosmogenic ⁷Be radioactivity level in all locations was relatively comparable and varied between 1.16 and 18.38 mBq/m³, with a geometric mean value of 6.80 mBq/m³. ¹³⁷Cs was infrequently recorded with concentration varied between 4 and 14.3 μBq/m³. The geometric mean levels of the ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb were 0.899 mBq/m³ and 1.03 mBq/m³, respectively, indicating that anthropogenic sources likely enrich ²¹⁰Po. ⁴⁰K was concentrated on large particle size fractions with a geometric mean value of 2.34 mBq/m³, reflecting the effects of the local dust sources. It was concluded that the radiological hazards due to airborne radioactive inhalation are low and can be negligible, where the annual estimated effective dose is about 64.0 μSv. The radioactive airborne measurements compose the base of estimating the aerosols residence time, resuspension rate of dust, soil redistribution and source apportionment, particularly the ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po radionuclides.