Thousands of dead fish in Maysan shock Iraqis
Fishermen’s boats lie close to the drying riverbed of the Amshan river in Iraq’s southeastern Maysan governorate. Photo: AFP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – In a staggering scene, thousands of fish floated in the Al-Ezz River in the southeastern Iraqi governorate of Maysan due to water scarcity and the high level of salinity.
Social media activists shared videos of fish deaths with angry comments about the situation in their areas because of water scarcity.
The local authorities in Maysan announced on Saturday that they had monitored the deaths of fish in the Al-Ezz River, warning of serious diseases at the same time.
An Iraqi official told Al-Arabiya News that the reason behind the deaths of fish is the significant shortage of water in the area, adding that agriculture almost disappeared during the summer season due to the same reason.
Iraq has been suffering from a severe water crisis for several years, but it reached its peak in the past two years and reached dangerous levels during the current year as many rivers, tributaries and marshes dried up.
The water levels in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers have declined to less than a meter in some areas, and people can cross rivers on foot in some other areas of Iraq.
According to the United Nations, Iraq has become one of the five countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change because of the continuous rise in temperatures and the increasing water shortages every year.