Tigris River flow rises after Turkish water release

Shafaq News – Ankara/Baghdad

Iraq’s Tigris River is witnessing a gradual
rise in water levels following Turkiye’s decision to increase cross-border
releases, Minister of Water Resources Aoun Diab confirmed on Thursday.

Diab noted that the flow has climbed by
more than 100 cubic meters per second, while the Euphrates has seen no
comparable increase.

The impact on southern provinces is
expected to be delayed, as water released from Mosul takes about 21 days to
reach Basra, with substantial losses anticipated along the route due to
evaporation and soil absorption, he explained.

Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani
had announced that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had approved a daily
discharge of 420 cubic meters per second into Iraq, though a technical official
at Mosul Dam reported that outflows into the Tigris currently stand at 350
cubic meters per second, falling short of the volume stipulated in the
agreement.

Meanwhile, the Iraq Green Observatory
cautioned that the increase is limited to a two-month period, adding that over
500 water buffalo have died in recent months due to severe drought.