Iraq's water reserves lowest in 80 years: official
Iraq's water reserves are at their lowest in 80 years after a dry rainy season, a government official said yesterday, as its share from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers shrinks.
Water is a major issue in the country of 46 million people undergoing a serious environmental crisis because of climate change, drought, rising temperatures and declining rainfall. Authorities also blame upstream dams built in neighbouring Iran and Turkey for dramatically lowering the flow of the once-mighty Tigris and Euphrates, which have irrigated Iraq for millennia.
'The summer season should begin with at least 18 billion cubic meters... yet we only have about 10 billion cubic meters,' water resources ministry spokesperson Khaled Shamal told AFP.
'Last year our strategic reserves were better. It was double what we have now,' Shamal said.
'We haven't seen such a low reserve in 80 years,' he added, saying this was mostly due to the reduced flow from the two rivers. Iraq currently receives less than 40 percent of its share from the Tigris and Euphrates, according to Shamal.
Agricultural planning in Iraq always depends on water, and this year it aims to preserve 'green spaces and productive areas' amounting to more than 1.5 million Iraqi dunams (375,000 hectares), said Shamal.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Tribune
2 days ago
- Daily Tribune
Nigeria flooding death toll jumps past 200
AFP | Flash flooding in north-central Nigeria last week killed more than 200 people, the Niger state humanitarian commissioner said Tuesday, while hundreds more remain missing and are feared dead. The town of Mokwa was hit with the worst flash flood in living memory Thursday from overnight rains, with more than 250 homes destroyed and swathes of the town wiped out in a single morning. The announcement comes after several days of the official toll standing at around 150, even as residents were sometimes missing more than a dozen members in a single family. "We have more than 200… corpses," Ahmad Suleiman told Nigerian broadcaster Channels Television, adding: "Nobody can tell you the number of casualties in Niger state right now because up till now, we are still looking for some corpses." "We're still looking for more," he added. But, he said, "sincerely speaking, we cannot ascertain." Given the number of people still missing nearly a week later, the toll from a single morning of flooding in Mokwa could be worse than all of 2024 combined, which saw 321 deaths from flooding across the country. Climate change has made weather swings in Nigeria more extreme, but residents in Mokwa said human factors were also at play. Water had been building up for days behind an abandoned railway track that runs along the edge of the town, residents told AFP. Floodwaters would usually pass through a couple of culverts in the mounds and run into a narrow channel. But debris had blocked the culverts, forcing water to build up behind the clay walls that eventually gave way. Floods in Nigeria are often exacerbated by inadequate drainage, the construction of homes on waterways and the dumping of waste in drains and water channels. Volunteers and disaster response teams have recovered bodies nearly 10 kilometres (six miles) away after they were swept into the Niger River. Days before the disaster struck Mokwa, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency had warned of possible flash floods in 15 of Nigeria's 36 states, including Niger state, between Wednesday and Friday. When AFP reporters visited the town earlier this week, a powerful stench filled the air, which residents said came from decaying corpses trapped under the rubble. The government said it has delivered aid, but locals have criticised what they say is a lacklustre response, with multiple families telling AFP they hadn't received anything.
Daily Tribune
26-05-2025
- Daily Tribune
Iraq's water reserves lowest in 80 years: official
Iraq's water reserves are at their lowest in 80 years after a dry rainy season, a government official said yesterday, as its share from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers shrinks. Water is a major issue in the country of 46 million people undergoing a serious environmental crisis because of climate change, drought, rising temperatures and declining rainfall. Authorities also blame upstream dams built in neighbouring Iran and Turkey for dramatically lowering the flow of the once-mighty Tigris and Euphrates, which have irrigated Iraq for millennia. 'The summer season should begin with at least 18 billion cubic meters... yet we only have about 10 billion cubic meters,' water resources ministry spokesperson Khaled Shamal told AFP. 'Last year our strategic reserves were better. It was double what we have now,' Shamal said. 'We haven't seen such a low reserve in 80 years,' he added, saying this was mostly due to the reduced flow from the two rivers. Iraq currently receives less than 40 percent of its share from the Tigris and Euphrates, according to Shamal. Agricultural planning in Iraq always depends on water, and this year it aims to preserve 'green spaces and productive areas' amounting to more than 1.5 million Iraqi dunams (375,000 hectares), said Shamal.
Daily Tribune
24-05-2025
- Daily Tribune
UAE hits hottest May on record at 50.4°C
The United Arab Emirates recorded yesterday its highest temperature for May since it began documenting them in 2003 — a sweltering 50.4 degrees Celsius, according to the National Center of Meteorology. "The highest temperature recorded over the country today is 50.4°C in Al Shawamekh (Abu Dhabi) at 14:30 UAE local time," it said in a post on X. "This is the highest temperature we've ever recorded (for May) since we started keeping records in 2003," the NCM told AFP. That topped the previous highest temperature of 50.2°C recorded in May 2009, said the centre.
