‘No water, no life’: Iraq’s Tigris River in danger of disappearing Unless urgent action is taken life will be fundamentally altered for the ancient communities who live on its banks The Guardian - UK · Dec 16, 2025
In Iraq's Summer, Residents Of Kurdistan's Arbil Ache For Water The taps have run dry, and the wells are almost empty. - Dried wells - Iraq is known in Arabic as the Land of the Two Rivers, referring to the once mighty Tigris and Euphrates. International Business Times · Aug 12, 2024
Iraqis Flock To River Or Ice Rink To Escape Searing Heat In the sizzling Baghdad heat, Mussa Abdallah takes to the Tigris river during the day to cool off, while others opt for ice skating to escape the relentless temperatures. International Business Times · Jun 20, 2024
Turkish president visits Iraq to bolster economic ties Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Iraq this Monday on his first official visit in over a decade. Erdogan signed a raft of deals in a bid to reset rocky relations. High on the agenda was the water issue, stemming from Turkey's construction of dams on the Tigris and… France 24 · Apr 22, 2024
Rampant Water Pollution Threatens Iraq's Shrinking Rivers Stricken by drought and depleted by upstream dams, Iraq's once mighty rivers the Tigris and Euphrates are suffocating under pollutants from sewage to medical waste. International Business Times · Feb 21, 2024
Our River … Our Sky review – compelling portrait of lives in an Iraqi war zone Maysoon Pachachi’s fiction debut, set in Baghdad in 2006, focuses on individuals behind the headlines, with the river Tigris a recurring symbol The Guardian - UK · Oct 16, 2023
Iraq's polluted rivers threaten daily life, pose serious health risks Over the past few months, temperatures in Iraq have reached 50 degrees Celsius and water levels in the country’s rivers are dropping fast. Despite having two big rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, Iraq suffers from desertification and there are concerns about the water disappearing - mainly from Iranian and Turkish… France 24 · Aug 28, 2023
Commentary: Finding a new path to water conservation for the next millennium, for California and the world In the long sweep of human history, water has always played a central role in determining the geography of civilizations, and eons ago it influenced the migration of our early ancestors out of Africa and across the world. The ability to manage water contributed to the success or failure of… Los Angeles Times · Jun 16, 2023
Erdogan Vows to Boost Water Flow along Tigris River to Ease Iraq’s Water Shortage Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged Tuesday to step up the flow of water along the Tigris River to drought-stricken Iraq for one month. Erdogan told Iraq's visiting Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani that he was aware of the "urgent need for water" in Turkiye's war-scarred neighbour. Official Iraqi statistics… Asharq Al-Awsat · Mar 22, 2023
Iraq: Levels of Tigris and Euphrates Plunge in South Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates rivers have witnessed a sharp decrease in their levels in the south of the country, officials said Sunday, pledging to take urgent measures to ease water shortages. In Nasiriyah, capital of the southern province of Dhi Qar, an AFP photographer saw the river bed of the… Asharq Al-Awsat · Feb 26, 2023
Death in the marshes: environmental calamity hits Iraq’s unique wetlands Rivers and lakes that have nurtured communities since civilisation’s dawn are drying up, as drought leads to hunger, displacement and simmering conflict The Guardian - UK · Jan 29, 2023
Dam Threatens to Swallow Iraqi Farmland Jamil al-Juburi, 53, has never left his village in northern Iraq, where his family has worked the land for generations -- but a dam will soon swallow his home, forcing them out. Tens of thousands of Iraqis are threatened by the Makhoul dam, which the government hopes will be operational… Asharq Al-Awsat · Nov 27, 2022
Climate, politics double threat as Tigris-Euphrates shrivels A combination of climate change and politics is threatening the Tigris-Euphrates river system, one of the world's most vulnerable watersheds The Independent UK · Nov 18, 2022
Politics, climate conspire as Tigris and Euphrates dwindle A combination of climate change and politics is threatening the Tigris-Euphrates river system, one of the world’s most vulnerable watersheds The Independent UK · Nov 18, 2022
Al Jazeera · Nov 15, 2022 Zakhiku: The ancient city in Iraq revealed by severe drought The ruins of a submerged city on the Tigris River that emerged this year belonged to a little-known empire.
Asharq Al-Awsat · Oct 30, 2022 Iraqi Wells Threaten Race to the Bottom Iraq has long drilled the desert for oil, but now climate stress, drought and reduced river flows are forcing it to dig ever deeper for a more precious resource: water. Iraq is one of the world's five countries most impacted by key effects of the climate crisis, according the United…
Asharq Al-Awsat · Oct 10, 2022 Iraq Drought Displaces 1,200 Families in Parched South Some 1,200 Iraqi families have been forced out of southern marshes and farmlands over the past six months, a local official told AFP, as drought ravages swathes of the country. The Mesopotamian Marshes, a UNESCO World Heritage site, have been battered by low rainfall and reduced flows in the Tigris…
Reuters · Oct 6, 2022 Baghdad's historic homes crumble as real estate booms Overlooking the Tigris river in Baghdad, a 100-year-old Iraqi mansion stands dilapidated and neglected. Visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of its faded glory are warned off by a sign near the door saying: "Danger of collapse".
Asharq Al-Awsat · Sep 20, 2022 Iraq's Mighty River Drying Up It was the river that is said to have watered the biblical Garden of Eden and helped give birth to civilization itself. But today the Tigris is dying. Human activity and climate change have choked its once mighty flow through Iraq, where -- with its twin river the Euphrates --…
Zenger · Jun 2, 2022 City Underwater: Archaeologists Rush To Investigate 3,400-Year-Old City Emerging From Tigris River A team of archaeologists had to scramble to investigate a 3400-year-old city before it was submerged again after it emerged from the Tigris River in Iraq due to drought.
Asharq Al-Awsat · Apr 21, 2022 Iraq’s Water Resources ‘Down 50 Percent’ Iraq’s water resources have plunged 50 percent since last year, due to repeated periods of drought, low rainfall and declining river levels, a government official told AFP on Thursday. Oil-rich Iraq, despite its mighty Tigris and Euphrates rivers, is classified as one of the world’s five countries most vulnerable to…
Asharq Al-Awsat · Apr 10, 2022 Iraqis Clean up River as First Green Projects Take Root Garbage clogs the banks of Iraq's Tigris River in Baghdad but an army of young volunteers is cleaning it, a rare environmental project in the war-battered country. With boots and gloves, they pick up soggy trash, water bottles, aluminum cans and muddy styrofoam boxes, part of a green activist campaign…