The NEOM project is a $500 billion Saudi Arabian futuristic city projected to emerge out of the Tabuk desert with flying taxis, a desert ski slope, and a 170-kilometer-long mirrored skyscraper corridor, dazzling the world with its ambitious plans. Positioned as an eco-friendly, sustainable paradise, NEOM will allegedly reinvent the concept of urban civilization. Yet beyond the glittering surface, there is a possible environmental backlash that may have a far-reaching effect, experts say.
Donald Wuebbles, a climate scientist and project consultant, has expressed deep concern. The reflected design and massive size of NEOM may interfere with natural weather patterns in the Gulf of Aqaba. The city can also stabilize a fragile desert climate that has been stable over thousands of years by redirecting winds, changing the distribution of heat, and even influencing rainfall patterns.
The design of NEOM does seek to adjust to its severe conditions. Its long shape funnels desert breezes to naturally cool it, reflective surfaces bounce sunlight away, and shading structures attempt to tame the wild temperature fluctuations. Geothermal systems and artificially intelligent climate control will ensure high-tech efficiency below the city. But despite these features, the project risks becoming an enormous urban heat island, such as Dubai or Phoenix, but on a scale never before seen.
The main feature of NEOM is a linear city called The Line, which is surrounded by two parallel walls of mirrors 500 meters high. Throw in other proposed hubs such as Oxagon, a floating industrial city, and Trojena, a mountain resort, and the scale is nearly planetary. The idea of such a megastructure reengineering regional climates has no precedent.
As NEOM presents itself as carbon-neutral and futuristic, the red flags are obvious. It may turn into a paradox: the city that is supposed to be in harmony with nature and that is powerful enough to destroy it. Further research is necessary, as Wuebbles warns. Otherwise, this shiny utopia will turn into a contemporary Tower of Babel—not because of ambition, but because of its own unintended effects.
