The Nexus Among Population Distribution and Climate Risk?

The geographical distribution of the population in Saudi Arabia plays a crucial role in ‎climate risk management. The country is characterized by a high concentration of ‎urban population, particularly in major cities such as Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam, ‎while vast desert areas remain sparsely populated. This spatial configuration ‎exacerbates the varying vulnerabilities to climate hazards: flash floods and heat islands ‎in densely populated urban areas, water scarcity and desertification in rural and desert ‎regions, and coastal threats related to flooding and sea-level rise. This study ‎demonstrates that climate risk management must take into account this territorial ‎heterogeneity to develop appropriate public policies. Recent initiatives, including ‎those within the framework of Vision 2030 and innovative urban projects such as ‎NEOM, illustrate the Kingdom's commitment to integrating sustainability and ‎resilience into its spatial planning. ‎