The Middle East is one of the most vulnerable regions when it comes to climate change.
US military satellite imagery from the 1960s and 1970s from the declassified Corona reconnaissance programme starkly illustrates this challenge, showing a landscape that has changed a great deal over the decades.
A 2019 study by the World Resources Institute showed that 12 of the 17 most “water stressed” countries in the world are in the region.
In particular, the images highlight demographic pressure — defined by the Fragile States Index, a conflict monitor, as “pressures upon the state deriving from the population itself or the environment around it”.
Some of these countries — including Yemen, Syria and Iraq — are experiencing water scarcity, climate change, conflict and mismanagement, which combined create a multi-sided crisis, worsening the impact of drought and desertification.
Rapidly growing populations have compounded the problem — even countries that have not been directly affected by war such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia face a challenge to maintain water security.
Images from the US Centre for Advanced Spatial Technologies show the many changes in the region since the 1970s, when the Middle East’s population was estimated to be about 120 million.
The World Bank estimates the region's population rose to more than 420 million in 2020 and could cross 700 million by 2050 if current demographic trends continue.
Comparing the Corona programme imagery with recent satellite images shows the changes in land use during this demographic boom.
In a 1969 image of Buraydah, Saudi Arabia, the Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz International Airport, built in 1964, is barely visible in the centre of the photo. Along with roads, it is the only recognisable feature of a landscape now transformed by new villages, a university and the distinctive circular fields of centre-pivot irrigation.
Images of such development emerging in arid environments point to coming challenges to national water strategies and show what is at stake for these communities facing a future of reduced water supplies.
In the case of Iraq and Jordan, national strategies call for repairing leaking and ageing water infrastructure, investing in more efficient irrigation methods, rationing groundwater and enacting a tariff programme to encourage water saving.
Harsh recent droughts as well as pressure to raise agricultural production amid the food crisis sparked by the Ukraine war have given urgency to these plans.
Jawad Al Bakri, an agriculture professor at the University of Jordan, says a large reduction in water quotas for farmers will affect yields significantly this year, on top of generally bad harvests in 2021.
He suggests that the government should grant groundwater licences in the northern Jordan Valley, one of the country’s main farming regions. Jordan receives more than half of its water from underground aquifers, but some experts fear they are dangerously depleted.
Mr Al Bakri believes there is little choice.
“Some wells must be drilled to compensate for the water deficit,” he told The National.
To alleviate the competition for water between the agriculture, domestic and industrial sectors, focus has moved to recycling wastewater and repairing or replacing old and leaking infrastructure.
From the Jordanian government side, a plan to jump-start the economy unveiled this month said agricultural production consumes half of the water resources in the kingdom while contributing 5 per cent to GDP and 6 per cent to exports.
The plan did not go into specifics, unlike a recent master plan to overhaul farming in Jordan devised by the German Corporation for International Co-operation, which reduces the size of irrigated areas while increasing yields.
For cities such as Zarqa in one of Jordan's poorest governorates, the struggle will be to reduce groundwater use, a report published last year by the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed.
The EU last year announced that the Zarqa-Amman area would receive €60 million ($63m) in grants and loans to build a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant.
That would be in addition to a nearly $300m project funded by the US aid agency Millennium Challenge Corporation to improve water treatment and efficiency in Zarqa, completed over five years in 2016.
Time is a luxury however — the study said Jordan “must enact an ambitious portfolio of interventions that span supply- and demand-side measures” as soon as possible.
Expanding cities
Satellite images show urban sprawl taking over large parts of the desert and farmland, as seen in Samawa, southern Iraq — one of Iraq’s most water-stressed cities, and Zarqa, a governorate whose population has swelled as generations of Palestinian refugees from the Arab-Israeli conflict settled in its largest city.
50 years of change in Zarqa, Jordan
A comparison of Gaza following the 1967 war and today shows vast areas of rolling sand dunes becoming agricultural land and the expanding city of Khan Younis — all dependent on an aquifer, the strip’s main source of water.
Now there are fears that the desert will reclaim these irrigated areas, turning the heavily populated area into a dust bowl.
Gaza has some seawater desalination plants that provide drinking water for about 70,000 of the two million residents and the World Bank plans a much larger facility that will provide water for more than 800,000 people.
But desalination is energy intensive, raising the question of how sustainable it would be in a territory that struggles to produce enough power.
Gaza's parched future
In addition to climate-related challenges, Gaza has been under Israeli blockade for 15 years, sometimes described as the world’s largest “open air prison."
The densely populated strip of land also suffers from a severe fuel shortage due to Israel’s blockade and a high daily demand of power.
“Gaza suffers from reduced rainfall, annual seawater level rises and more extreme heat events already as a result of climate change,” Amira Aker, a postdoctoral fellow at Canada’s Universite Laval, told The National.
“Hundreds of years ago, Gaza was considered an oasis due to the abundance of water it had.
“Today, its aquifers are over-drafted, and its sea contaminated with sewage waste which seeps into the fresh water supplies.
“Combine those factors with Israel’s uprooting of trees along its border with Gaza, which causes the soil to lose organic material and contain less roots with which to hold on to water, contributing to desertification.”
Less rain has also motivated farmers to use more chemicals to get higher yields from their crops.
“This also leads to problems in the soil like soil degradation and loss of biodiversity,” Ms Aker said.
50 years of change in Khan Younis, Gaza
Iraq on the brink
Like much of Iraq, Samawa has struggled to sustain crumbling water infrastructure. Households compete for water with agriculture — local authorities say 1,000 illegal wells have been dug for farming during a recent period of drought — and industry.
Compounding this problem, upriver dam construction on the Euphrates River and a succession of severe droughts has reduced available water over the decades, leading to rising salinity in the river — the town's main source of freshwater.
Water flows in Iraq's two biggest rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, have dropped by about two thirds since major dam projects in Turkey, Syria and Iran began in the 1970s.
At the same time, Samawa has expanded rapidly.
50 years of change in Samawa, Iraq
Authorities blame illegal wells and overuse of water by cement plants and salt factories for the drying up of a lake near the town, Lake Sawa, which had been a tourist destination as recently as the 1990s.
During the 1990s, the population of the province where Samawa is located, Al Muthanna, swelled due to an influx of refugees following an uprising against Saddam Hussein in 1991.
At the same time, Iraq's rapidly growing population was placing increasing pressure on vital services that were failing due to international sanctions.
Samawa has relied on World Bank assistance to launch a series of water projects since around 2010. One of them is near completion but was delayed due to a lack of Iraqi government funds during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Further south, the port city of Basra faces equally severe pressure. In 2018, amid a severe drought, a combination of rising seawater encroaching into the city's dwindling freshwater supply and pollution from several sources sickened more than 100,000 people.
Unlike Samawa, Basra can benefit from large-scale desalination plants, but such projects take years to complete and are often delayed by Iraq's pervasive political corruption.
“Iraq is currently in its summer months, which means the recurrent events in Basra are renewed, namely the extension of the 'salt tongue' from the Arabian Gulf into the Shatt Al Arab, and then to the city of Basra, which causes desalination plants installed on it to stop,” said Zainab Mehdi, a Women and Security Fellow at the Cambridge Middle East and North Africa Forum.
“The future government should find solutions to this, such as the construction of a moveable dam on the Shatt Al Arab, as well as the installation of desalination plants for extremely saline water.”
As with Jordan and Gaza, time is not on Iraq's side: the country's population, now 41 million, is projected to reach 50 million in 2030.
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The years Ramadan fell in May
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at the Gabba
Australia 312-1
Warner 151 not out, Burns 97, Labuschagne 55 not out
Pakistan 240
Shafiq 76, Starc 4-52
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
%3Cp%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fislamic-economy-consumer-spending-to-increase-45-to-3-2tn-by-2024-1.936583%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EGlobal%20Islamic%20economy%20to%20grow%203.1%25%20to%20touch%20%242.4%20trillion%20by%202024%3C%2Fa%3E%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fuk-economy-plunges-into-worst-ever-recession-after-record-20-4-contraction-1.1062560%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EUK%20economy%20plunges%20into%20worst-ever%20recession%20after%20record%2020.4%25%20contraction%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fislamic-economy-consumer-spending-to-increase-45-to-3-2tn-by-2024-1.936583%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EIslamic%20economy%20consumer%20spending%20to%20increase%2045%25%20to%20%243.2tn%20by%202024%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
More on animal trafficking
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Company profile: buybackbazaar.com
Name: buybackbazaar.com
Started: January 2018
Founder(s): Pishu Ganglani and Ricky Husaini
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech, micro finance
Initial investment: $1 million
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
AIDA%20RETURNS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarol%20Mansour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAida%20Abboud%2C%20Carol%20Mansour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5.%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More on Quran memorisation:
More on Quran memorisation:
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
The five pillars of Islam
Countries offering golden visas
UK
Innovator Founder Visa is aimed at those who can demonstrate relevant experience in business and sufficient investment funds to set up and scale up a new business in the UK. It offers permanent residence after three years.
Germany
Investing or establishing a business in Germany offers you a residence permit, which eventually leads to citizenship. The investment must meet an economic need and you have to have lived in Germany for five years to become a citizen.
Italy
The scheme is designed for foreign investors committed to making a significant contribution to the economy. Requires a minimum investment of €250,000 which can rise to €2 million.
Switzerland
Residence Programme offers residence to applicants and their families through economic contributions. The applicant must agree to pay an annual lump sum in tax.
Canada
Start-Up Visa Programme allows foreign entrepreneurs the opportunity to create a business in Canada and apply for permanent residence.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
%3Cp%3EBy%202030%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi%20aims%20to%20achieve%3A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%2039.3%20million%20visitors%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20nearly%2064%25%20up%20from%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%20Dh90%20billion%20contribution%20to%20GDP%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20about%2084%25%20more%20than%20Dh49%20billion%20in%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%20178%2C000%20new%20jobs%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20bringing%20the%20total%20to%20about%20366%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%2052%2C000%20hotel%20rooms%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20up%2053%25%20from%2034%2C000%20in%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%207.2%20million%20international%20visitors%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20almost%2090%25%20higher%20compared%20to%202023's%203.8%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%203.9%20international%20overnight%20hotel%20stays%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2022%25%20more%20from%203.2%20nights%20in%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
CABINET%20OF%20CURIOSITIES%20EPISODE%201%3A%20LOT%2036
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGuillermo%20del%20Toro%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tim%20Blake%20Nelson%2C%20Sebastian%20Roche%2C%20Elpidia%20Carrillo%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Palestine and Israel - live updates
Read more about the coronavirus
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group H
Juventus v Valencia, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The years Ramadan fell in May
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
Read more from Johann Chacko
The five pillars of Islam
PROVISIONAL FIXTURE LIST
Premier League
Wednesday, June 17 (Kick-offs uae times) Aston Villa v Sheffield United 9pm; Manchester City v Arsenal 11pm
Friday, June 19 Norwich v Southampton 9pm; Tottenham v Manchester United 11pm
Saturday, June 20 Watford v Leicester 3.30pm; Brighton v Arsenal 6pm; West Ham v Wolves 8.30pm; Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 10.45pm
Sunday, June 21 Newcastle v Sheffield United 2pm; Aston Villa v Chelsea 7.30pm; Everton v Liverpool 10pm
Monday, June 22 Manchester City v Burnley 11pm (Sky)
Tuesday, June 23 Southampton v Arsenal 9pm; Tottenham v West Ham 11.15pm
Wednesday, June 24 Manchester United v Sheffield United 9pm; Newcastle v Aston Villa 9pm; Norwich v Everton 9pm; Liverpool v Crystal Palace 11.15pm
Thursday, June 25 Burnley v Watford 9pm; Leicester v Brighton 9pm; Chelsea v Manchester City 11.15pm; Wolves v Bournemouth 11.15pm
Sunday June 28 Aston Villa vs Wolves 3pm; Watford vs Southampton 7.30pm
Monday June 29 Crystal Palace vs Burnley 11pm
Tuesday June 30 Brighton vs Manchester United 9pm; Sheffield United vs Tottenham 11.15pm
Wednesday July 1 Bournemouth vs Newcastle 9pm; Everton vs Leicester 9pm; West Ham vs Chelsea 11.15pm
Thursday July 2 Arsenal vs Norwich 9pm; Manchester City vs Liverpool 11.15pm
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group F
Manchester City v Hoffenheim, midnight (Wednesday, UAE)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More on animal trafficking
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
More on Quran memorisation:
