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Iraq’s Lake Hamrin, a once-vast reservoir northeast of Baghdad that’s the sole supply of water for irrigation throughout Diyala province, has practically dried out, a senior official mentioned Friday.
Successive years of low rainfall and a pointy discount within the circulate of water down the Sirwan River from neighbouring Iran have decreased a lot of the lake to a mud bowl, the official advised AFP.
“There was a pointy discount within the water stage—reserves presently stand at 130 million cubic metres in opposition to two billion cubic metres usually,” mentioned Aoun Dhiab, a senior adviser within the water ministry.
Dhiab mentioned various elements had been accountable together with the extended drought and Iranian dam development and river diversion initiatives upstream.
Dhiab mentioned it was not the primary time water ranges had fallen so low. “In 2009, the lake dried out utterly. There was only a stream.”
He mentioned the affect on surrounding farmland shouldn’t be underestimated.
“There are not any different sources of water within the province—the amount arriving in Lake Hamrin is the amount used within the province.”
He mentioned the federal government had requested Iran to extend the circulate of water throughout the border. In any other case all that may very well be executed was to wish for greater rainfall subsequent yr.
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Iraqi kids play on a ship grounded by the shrinking of Lake Hamrin — the reservoir as soon as offered fish for the dinner desk in addition to water for irrigation.
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Motorists not want the asphalted street that used to bridge Lake Hamrin, they will merely drive throughout the dried out lakebed.
The issue shouldn’t be unique to Diyala province. The World Financial institution predicts that with out main adjustments, Iraq can have misplaced 20 p.c of its water assets by 2020.
The nation is classed as one in every of 5 most susceptible to local weather change results and desertification. Water shortages have led this yr to decreased quotas for rice and wheat farmers.
Iraq’s upstream neighbours Iran, Turkey and Syria expertise comparable shortfalls, that means that its appeals for assist typically fall unheaded.
Iraq’s prized rice crop threatened by drought
© 2022 AFP
Quotation:
Key Iraq irrigation reservoir near drying out (2022, Could 20)
retrieved 20 Could 2022
from https://phys.org/information/2022-05-key-iraq-irrigation-reservoir.html
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