{"id":87326,"date":"2026-04-28T10:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T10:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/87326\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T10:43:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T10:43:08","slug":"iraq-faces-permanent-drought-risks-despite-seasonal-rainfall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/87326\/","title":{"rendered":"Iraq faces permanent drought risks despite seasonal rainfall"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n 2026-04-28T10:15:12+00:00<\/p>\n

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Shafaq News- Baghdad<\/p>\n

Iraq\u2019s recent rainy season lifted
\nwater levels in dams and reservoirs, offering short-term relief in parts of the
\ncountry. The gains, however, have not shifted longer-term concerns, as
\ndeclining water resources, desertification and dust storms continue to define
\nthe broader environmental outlook.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Shafaq News, Torhan
\nal-Mufti, adviser to the prime minister for water affairs, described the rainy
\nseason as strong compared with previous years. Still, he argued that the
\nunderlying water crisis remains unchanged despite seasonal gains, pointing to
\nclimate change and inefficient water use as the main pressures on supply.<\/p>\n

In the south, Sawa Lake in
\nal-Muthanna province has largely dried up after years of declining rainfall and
\nintensive groundwater extraction. According to Amir Kadhim al-Aradi, head of
\nthe Environment Department in the province, the decline is linked to widespread
\nwell drilling and rising demand for water in agriculture and industry,
\nincluding cement and brick production.<\/p>\n

Stressing that the underground
\naquifers feeding the lake have been depleted, he noted that the Ramsar-listed
\nwetland has lost most of its ecological activity while its biodiversity was
\nsharply reduced.<\/p>\n

Similarly in Najaf, climate-related
\ndisplacement has increased as water shortages and land degradation deepen. In an
\ninterview with our agency, Haider Faleh Hassan, head of the province\u2019s Climate
\nChange Division, linked rising desertification to reduced Euphrates flows and
\nstagnant water conditions.<\/p>\n

Read more: Floods vs. deficit: Did rain solve Iraq\u2019s water problem?<\/a><\/p>\n

The province has received 742
\nfamilies from al-Diwaniyah, al-Muthanna, and Dhi Qar<\/a> as agricultural
\nlivelihoods weaken under mounting water stress. Some nomadic groups have also
\nmoved toward less arid areas in search of grazing land.<\/p>\n

According to the Iraqi Ministry of
\nAgriculture, Najaf has about 449,000 dunams of agricultural land, while more
\nthan 10 million dunams across the country are now exposed to desertification
\nrisk. Large areas have also been affected by salinity and waterlogging, with
\nadditional land taken out of cultivation in 2025.<\/p>\n

In its latest report, the Iraq Green
\nObservatory also estimated that more than 60% of the country is affected by
\ndesertification, with dust and sandstorms expected to exceed 100 days annually,
\ndriven by both domestic conditions and incoming dust from Syria, Saudi Arabia,
\nand the Badia region.<\/p>\n

Read more: Iraq burns: Dust, drought ravage the nation’s core<\/a><\/p>\n

The UN Food and Agriculture
\nOrganization (FAO) reported that forested areas in Iraq now cover only 8,250
\nsquare kilometres, around 2% of the country\u2019s total territory. Its 2025 study
\nindicated that 90% of Iraq lies within arid and semi-arid climate zones, where
\nsummer temperatures frequently exceed 50\u00b0C, while rainfall has declined between
\n5\u201315 cm.<\/p>\n

Even as conditions deteriorate,
\nlocal initiatives have emerged to slow environmental decline. In Najaf,
\nafforestation campaigns have planted more than 6,000 seedlings over the past
\nmonth.<\/p>\n

Haider al-Saffar, head of
\nafforestation and nurseries at the Najaf Agriculture Directorate, explained
\nthat the projects focus on plant species capable of withstanding high salinity
\nand water scarcity while avoiding damage to infrastructure. He added that
\nselected tree varieties are chosen based on scientific studies and agricultural
\nexpertise, with an emphasis on improving ventilation, reducing humidity, and
\nlowering temperatures.<\/p>\n

Citing that the plan integrates
\nmodern irrigation systems and green corridors to create ecological pathways
\naimed at restoring environmental balance, he noted that the long-term goal
\ntargets a reduction of up to seven degrees Celsius in urban temperatures by
\n2030, further positioning Najaf as a national model for environmental planning.<\/p>\n

In Karbala, the Fadak Date Palm
\nFarm, one of Iraq\u2019s key agricultural sustainability projects, operates in
\naffiliation with the Imam Hussein Shrine. Farm director Faiz Abu al-Maali told
\nShafaq News that the project, located west of Karbala near Lake Razzaza, has
\nplanted more than 30,000 palm trees as part of efforts to reclaim desert land
\nand expand green cover.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe farm relies on drip irrigation
\nand organic farming methods to reduce water consumption and maintain soil
\nquality,\u201d he added, noting that it also maintains a genetic bank of more than
\n90 varieties of Iraqi and Arab date palms, aimed at preserving agricultural
\nheritage and strengthening food security.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2026-04-28T10:15:12+00:00 font Enable Reading Mode A- A A+ Shafaq News- Baghdad Iraq\u2019s recent rainy season lifted water levels…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":87327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[14],"tags":[31040,31038,31039,94,31037,20417],"class_list":["post-87326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-iraq","tag-desertification","tag-drought","tag-dust-storms","tag-iraq","tag-iraq-faces-permanent-drought-risks-despite-seasonal-rainfall","tag-rainfall"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116481923817571513","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}