According to officials, the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers in southern Iraq have seen a severe decline in water levels.
They promised to take immediate action to relieve the country's water problems.
The powerful Euphrates river bed was partially
dry when an AFP photographer visited Nasiriyah, the capital of the southern
province of Dhi Qar.
The condition in some southern districts was
attributed by the water ministry to "the limited quantity of water
reaching Iraq from neighbouring Turkiye."
In a statement, it said that "this has
precipitated a severe decline in the country's water reserves."
Both the Tigris and the Euphrates originate in
Turkiye, and Iraqi authorities have long accused the Ankara government of
obstructing the rivers with dams and withholding water, drastically limiting
river flows into Iraq.
Authorities in Iraq also charge farmers with
misusing water resources and breaking laws in order to irrigate their fields.
According to the UN and other non-governmental
organisations, the lack of water is already one of the "primary causes of
rural-to-urban migration" in Iraq and has an impact on food security and
agriculture.
The Tigris River's level entering Iraq has
decreased to just 35% of its century-long normal, according to official Iraqi
statistics from last year.
Iraq is only receiving 30% of the water it
anticipated from the Tigris and the Euphrates, according to Khaled Chamal, a
spokesman for the water ministry, on a Sunday.
Iraq frequently requests additional water from
Turkiye and has implemented mechanisms to ration water for home and
agricultural usage.
Also, water is frequently held back in the
north of Iraq's dams, which incenses locals there.
On the country's southern Tigris and Euphrates
rivers, Chamal told AFP that the most recent drop in water levels was
"temporary."
According to him, authorities would raise
levels by releasing water from Iraqi dams in Mosul, Dukan, and Darbandikhan's
northern regions.
Within the next two days, he said, "there
ought to be positive results."
Iraq, which is wealthy in oil, is suffering
from poverty, drought, and desertification as a result of years of conflict.
According to the United Nations, it is one of
the top five nations most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
The World Bank encouraged Iraqi officials to
update irrigation systems, farming practices, and dam infrastructure in a
letter in December.