In Iraq, droughts disrupt access to drinking water and cause crop failures

The Diyala River, a tributary of the Tigris, reached extremely low levels during the summer of 2022. © Hadi Mizban / AP

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As COP27 approaches, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is sounding the alarm in Iraq.

This summer, temperatures have risen to 52°C in the south of the country, and the drought has had serious consequences throughout the territory.

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With our correspondent in Baghdad,

Ironically, Monday, October 24, the first rains briefly drenched Baghdad, to the delight of its inhabitants, as the Norwegian Refugee Council published a

on the summer drought.

This is the third year in a row that Iraq

.

More than 1,300 households from various Iraqi provinces were interviewed.

A quarter of them lost almost all of their wheat crops due to lack of water.

Due to the effects of climate change and the problematic distribution of hydrological resources in the region, the Fertile Crescent is dying.

The sources are drying up.

Six out of ten families now have difficulty obtaining drinking water.

Rural exodus

In addition, "

", points out the survey.

“

,” the study adds.

A rural exodus has already begun and the situation could eventually lead to a food crisis in Iraq.

The Norwegian Refugee Council calls on the authorities to take measures and strengthen their diplomatic efforts, in particular with Turkey, which controls upstream, by dams, the flow of the two main Iraqi rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates.

►Also read: In Iraq, ninth dust storm in Baghdad in the space of six weeks

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• Iraq

• Environment

• Natural disasters

• Water

• Climate change