The World Bank warns of an imminent crisis in Iraq's water resources

by **RamblerNash** Sun Nov 28, 2021 10:28 pm

25/11/2021

Economy News _ Baghdad

The World Bank confirmed, today, Thursday, that Iraq may witness a 20 percent decrease in water resources by 2050 due to climate change, warning of the repercussions of this on growth and employment.

In a statement accompanying a new report, Saroj Kumar Jha, Regional Director of the Mashreq Department at the World Bank, said: “Without taking concrete measures, the constraints in the water sector will result in significant losses across multiple sectors of the economy, and will affect more and more needy Iraqis. ".

The report warned that "by the year 2050, an increase in temperature in degrees Celsius and a decrease in precipitation by 10 percent will lead to a 20 percent decrease in the available fresh water" in Iraq.

"Under these conditions, the water will not reach nearly a third of the irrigated land," he added.

Real GDP could fall by as much as 4 percent, or $6.6 billion, compared to 2016.

The report added that "water scarcity" had begun to cause "limited-scale forced displacement", especially in the south of the country.

https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=26854