
Lebanon's worst drought on record drains largest reservoir
The Litani River National Authority said inflows to Lake Qaraoun during this year's wet season did not exceed 45 million cubic meters, a fraction of the 350 million cubic meters annual average.
Last year, the figure stood at 230 million. The water currently available in Lake Qaraoun — around 61 million cubic meters — was unusable due to severe pollution, the authority said.
'There were dry years in 1989, 1990 and 1991, but this year is the driest,' said Sami Alawieh, head of the river authority. 'We are facing a water scarcity problem across all Lebanese territories and water basins.'
Drone footage of Lake Qaraoun shows a dramatically receded shoreline, exposing cracked earth and dead vegetation.
Lebanon's hydroelectric plants tied to the Litani basin have been shut down, Alawieh said, causing financial losses and intensifying electricity rationing by Electricite du Liban.
'We have two factors: the decline in rainfall and the pressure on groundwater,' he said.
A study by the authority found climate warming and shifting weather patterns have contributed to more frequent dry seasons and higher temperatures, exacerbating soil moisture loss and reducing the recharging of groundwater reservoirs.
The state utility has slashed supply in some areas from 20 hours a day to as little as 10.
In the fertile area around Qaraoun village, in the Bekaa Valley, farmers were already feeling the impact.
'I have never seen such drought or scarcity of rain as this year,' said Safa Issa. 'We used to get snow up to a meter high. Now, it's been 10 years since we've seen any.'
The strain has been compounded by erratic supply of electricity needed to run irrigation systems.
'You irrigate for three hours, then stop for three,' said Fayez Omais, another local farmer.
Suzy Hoayek, an adviser to the Ministry of Energy and Water in Beirut, said a nationwide awareness campaign to reduce consumption would be launched within 10 days.
'The most important thing is to manage demand,' she said.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Al Arabiya
11 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Iraq grapples 51C temperatures, historic drought, power shortages
Iraqis grappled on Monday with searing heat in the capital Baghdad and parts of the country's south, where the weather service said temperatures reached 51C in the shade. Iraq's 46 million people face rising temperatures, chronic water shortages and year-on-year droughts, in a country intensely impacted by the effects of climate change. Summer temperatures often climb to 52C, especially in July and August. On central Baghdad's bustling streets on Monday, people sought respite from the sweltering heat in front of swirling mist fans set up near restaurants and shops. Some pedestrians drenched their faces with cold water purchased from sidewalk vendors, while drivers had to pull over to the roadside to cool down their engines. The national weather service said the temperature reached 51C in Baghdad and in areas to the capital's southeast, from the central Wasit province to Dhi Qar, Missan and Basra in the south. Another eight provinces hit 50C on Monday, with temperatures expected to drop slightly on Wednesday, according to the official Iraq News Agency. In recent years, Iraqis rallied every summer to protest regular power cuts and water shortages that plague their daily lives. Hundreds of people protested on Friday and Sunday near the cities of Hilla and Diwaniyah, south of Baghdad, blocking roads and burning tires. Iraq's water resources ministry has said that 'this year is one of the driest since 1933', and that water reserve are down to only eight percent of their full capacity. Authorities blame reduced river flows in part on upstream dams built in neighboring Iran and Turkey, which Iraq says have dramatically shrunk the once-mighty Tigris and Euphrates whose waters have been crucial for irrigation for millennia. Temperatures have risen significantly elsewhere in the region, with neighboring Turkey registering on Saturday 50.5C in its southeast, a nationwide record. Last week, a severe heatwave in Iran disrupted water and electricity supplies in much of the country.


Arab News
12 hours ago
- Arab News
Blazing heat in Iraq as Baghdad, south top 50C
BAGHDAD: Iraqis grappled on Monday with searing heat in the capital Baghdad and parts of the country's south, where the weather service said temperatures reached 51C in the shade. Iraq's 46 million people face rising temperatures, chronic water shortages and year-on-year droughts, in a country intensely impacted by the effects of climate change. Summer temperatures often climb to 52C, especially in July and August. On central Baghdad's bustling streets on Monday, people sought respite from the sweltering heat in front of swirling mist fans set up near restaurants and shops. Some pedestrians drenched their faces with cold water purchased from sidewalk vendors, while drivers had to pull over to the roadside to cool down their engines. The national weather service said the temperature reached 51C in Baghdad and in areas to the capital's southeast, from the central Wasit province to Dhi Qar, Missan and Basra in the south. Another eight provinces hit 50C on Monday, with temperatures expected to drop slightly on Wednesday, according to the official Iraq News Agency. In recent years, Iraqis rallied every summer to protest regular power cuts and water shortages that plague their daily lives. Hundreds of people protested on Friday and Sunday near the cities of Hilla and Diwaniyah, south of Baghdad, blocking roads and burning tires. Iraq's water resources ministry has said that 'this year is one of the driest since 1933,' and that water reserve are down to only eight percent of their full capacity. Authorities blame reduced river flows in part on upstream dams built in neighboring Iran and Turkiye, which Iraq says have dramatically shrunk the once-mighty Tigris and Euphrates whose waters have been crucial for irrigation for millennia. Temperatures have risen significantly elsewhere in the region, with neighboring Turkiye registering on Saturday 50.5C in its southeast, a nationwide record. Last week, a severe heatwave in Iran disrupted water and electricity supplies in much of the country.

Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- Al Arabiya
Philippines shuts schools, scraps flights as typhoon nears
The Philippines shut down schools and cancelled flights Thursday as typhoon-driven rains pounded the northern island of Luzon, a situation President Ferdinand Marcos called 'the new normal'. Typhoon Co-May, upgraded from a tropical storm overnight, follows days of monsoon rains that have killed at least 19 people and left another 11 missing across the archipelago since July 18, according to the national disaster agency. With maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers (75 miles) per hour, the typhoon was expected to make landfall on the west coast in either La Union or Ilocos Sur province by Friday morning, the country's weather service said. Marcos said on Thursday that climate change meant Filipinos needed to be thinking about how to adapt to a 'new normal.' 'This is not an extraordinary situation anymore... This will be our lives no matter what we do,' he told a televised cabinet briefing, adding the country should plan for the long-term in addressing natural disasters. 'This is the way it's going to be as far as we know for... many decades to come, so let's just prepare,' he said. 'We have to understand that the climate has changed, the rain patterns have changed,' he added, pointing to recent devastating flooding in the US state of Texas. Around 70 domestic and international flights in the Philippines were cancelled Thursday due to the storms, the civil aviation authority said. The government later announced that classes across Luzon would remain suspended through Friday. Tens of thousands were evacuated across Manila earlier this week by floodwaters that swamped some neighborhoods in waist-deep water and left residents of nearby provinces stranded and in need of rescue by boat. As of Thursday, at least several thousand people in Manila remained unable to return to their homes. 'We cannot send them home yet because it is still raining and some typhoons are still expected to affect the country,' Ria Mei Pangilinan, a rescue coordinator in the capital, told AFP. 'There might be more (evacuees) if the rain does not stop.' Typhoon Co-May was about 105 kilometers off the country's west coast as of 8 pm (1200 GMT).