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BAGHDAD, Iraq - Climate change, dust storms, and a dramatic decrease in the water levels of its main rivers are only a few of the major challenges Iraq finds itself engulfed in, posing a long-term threat to the local population, agriculture, and livestock.
Water levels have been declining significantly in Iraq’s Tigris and Euphrates rivers, its main lifelines.
“There is no water. What does it mean? The summer season is passing and we should buy water tankers. On what basis? Where should we live? We buy water tankers for 30,000-40,000 Iraqi dinars [around $20],” Hussain Ali, a livestock owner, told Rudaw’s Anmar Ghazi on Friday.
Concerns among Iraqis have been increasing as water resources are visibly decreasing. Clean water suitable for drinking is now becoming inaccessible, with diseases such as cholera on the rise.
“Our relatives in the south call us saying they are thirsty and have no drinking water. Where is our government and where did our elections go?” Farhad Jabar, a local farmer, cried out.
Iraq held elections in October last year but the political process to form a new government has been stalling since as issues in the country continue to multiply.
Neighboring Iran and Turkey have been accused to building dams on the river and redirecting the flow of water away from Iraq, despite criticism from Iraqi authorities.
Iraq is the fifth-most vulnerable nation in the world to the effects of climate change, including water and food insecurity. Low rainfall levels and high temperatures caused by climate change are depleting water supplies across the country. Much of Iraq’s agricultural lands depend on irrigation, but dams and reservoirs were at record-low levels this summer.
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