A record salt level disaster hits southern Iraq and cause severe damage in entire ecosystem of environment.
A worsening water crisis, intensified by years of drought, poor infrastructure, and upstream damming, has led to record-high water salinity in the rivers of southern Iraq, particularly in the Basra province.
This salinity shock is not only rendering the water unsafe for human consumption but is devastating the agricultural sector, killing livestock vital for local economies, and driving mass displacement.
Recent figures from Iraq’s water ministry indicate a dramatic increase in salt concentration.
In central Basra, salinity climbed to approximately 29,000 parts per million (ppm) last month, a staggering tenfold jump from 2,600 ppm recorded just a year ago.
For context, freshwater should contain less than 1,000 ppm, meaning the primary water source for this ancient region is now closer to seawater (averaging 35,000 ppm) than to drinkable or irrigable water.
The crisis is a perfect storm of environmental and geopolitical factors.
Critically low water levels in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers—due to climate change and dams built by upstream neighbours—mean the Shatt al-Arab waterway can no longer hold back the powerful, tidal intrusion of saltwater from the Arabian Gulf.
This, combined with high levels of industrial and agricultural pollution, has turned the lifeblood of the Mesopotamian plain into a toxic cocktail.
Crippling Impact on Livelihoods
The environmental collapse is most acutely felt by the region’s farmers and herders.
Agriculture and Water Scarcity
• Crop Failure: Farmers are unable to irrigate water-sensitive crops such as pomegranates, figs, and berries. The salt-laden water poisons the soil and destroys existing groves.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned that the increased salinity is destroying entire groves of palm and citrus trees.
• Economic Ruin: Farmers are watching their main sources of income vanish. Many, like 60-year-old farmer Zulaykha Hashem in Basra’s Al-Mashab marshes, are left in despair, delaying essential farming activities in the faint hope the water quality might improve.
Livestock Losses
• Mass Deaths:
The contaminated water is proving lethal for animals. Farmers report dozens of ducks and chickens dying this season alone from exposure to the brackish river water.
• Buffalo Mortality:
The loss of water buffalo herds—a cornerstone of local dairy production and traditional marsh life—is an alarming development.
Reporters in Missan and Basra have observed buffalo skeletons on parched, sun-baked soil, with local herders confirming their animals are dying from a lack of fresh water.
Human and Social Cost
• Public Health:
The contaminated water is a health risk for humans, causing skin rashes and water-related illnesses.
• Displacement:
The IOM notes that rising salinity and drought have already displaced an estimated 170,000 people in central and southern Iraq, as families are forced to leave their ancestral land to seek a sustainable water source.
• Fishing Industry Collapse:
The murky, salty water has severely impacted the fish stocks in the Shatt al-Arab, causing a steep decline in the income of fishermen and worsening tensions within affected families.
Government Response and Future Outlook
The Iraqi government is acknowledging the severity of the crisis. Water reserves across the country have plummeted to their lowest levels in over 80 years, leading the Ministry of Water Resources to suspend planting plans for the main winter cropping season, including wheat cultivation.
In an effort to provide relief to the affected south, the government announced a major desalination project in Basra with a projected capacity of one million cubic meters per day. However, experts stress that such long-term domestic projects must be coupled with determined diplomatic efforts to secure Iraq’s rightful share of water from neighbouring upstream countries.
For the farmers and herders of the south, facing a relentless cycle of drought and salinity, the existential challenge of securing clean water is immediate and worsening.
Headline Points
• Record Salinity:
Salinity levels in Basra hit approximately 29,000 ppm, a ten-fold increase from a year ago and close to seawater levels, rendering it toxic.
• Cause:
Low water flow in the Tigris and Euphrates allows seawater from the Gulf to intrude up the Shatt al-Arab.
• Mass Livestock Deaths:
Hundreds of animals, including essential water buffalo and poultry, are dying due to the brackish, undrinkable water.
• Crop Destruction:
Salt contamination is destroying palm groves, citrus trees, and other crops, threatening the food security of the nation.
• Humanitarian Crisis:
The water crisis is fuelling rural-to-urban displacement, with over 170,000 people already displaced in the southern region.
• Government Action:
Baghdad announced a large-scale desalination project in Basra but a solution is urgently needed.
