Scorpions hospitalise over 500 people during major storm in Egypt

The scorpion that emerged during Egypt’s storm is one of the world’s most dangerous. Amongst locals, it is known as the ‘deathstalker,’ a nod to the toxicity of the venom harboured inside its tail.

One sting from a fat-tail scorpion can kill adult humans in less than an hour. Luckily though, doses of anti-venom were administered to patients and all were discharged from the hospital feeling well.

As these creatures continue to seek out dry spots until their homes recover, state media has urged residents to avoid areas with many trees. Locals on the Nile said that although scorpion sightings were normal, seeing this many bites was out of the ordinary.

The storm was extremely rare for this region of Egypt, with the last major rainfall occurring over 11 years ago. Typically, Aswan experiences just 1 millimetre of rain per year.

A single hour of rain was enough to ‘wreck everything’, to quote an Egyptian government employee. Officials reported that 103 homes were destroyed in the event, however residents claim the real number was much larger.

Those stung might’ve dodged a bullet thanks to unused reserves of antidotes and fast-acting doctors, but this event should signal a type of risk from climate change that is often left unconsidered.

A radical fluctuation in weather will affect the entire ecosystem around us as it attempts to adapt. So along with optimising the building structure of homes and workplaces to protect us, perhaps we need to think about the nature living around us too.

If destroyed homes and scorpion invasions aren’t enough to drastically speed up innovative climate change solutions… I hate to think what will be.