Iraqi water minister says rains ‘promising’ after ‘worst drought’ on record
BAGHDAD — Water Resources Minister Aoun Diab said Saturday that the first rainfall of the season marks a “promising start” to what could be a wet year, offering early relief after what he described as the worst drought Iraq has recorded.
Diab told the state news agency that “the current rainy season is a promising start for a wet year, despite the absence of rain in December,” adding that he expects “good rainfall in January, February, and March after years of dry seasons.” He said he took office in late 2022 and that both 2023 and 2024 were dry years, while 2025 “was the biggest year of drought in history,” but he noted that this season “shows clear improvement.”
He said rainfall levels varied across the country, with heavy amounts in Mosul, Duhok, and parts of Erbil, medium levels in Sulaymaniyah and areas of Erbil and Diyala, and lighter showers elsewhere. He added that the ministry will provide precise totals by Sunday.
Saturday brought widespread rain to much of Iraq, including Baghdad, the Kurdistan Region, and several southern and central governorates. Mountain areas in Erbil, Duhok, and Sulaymaniyah also reported the season’s first snowfall. The renewed rainfall follows years of severe water shortages that pushed reservoirs to their lowest levels in eight decades and led residents in several cities last week to perform Salat al-Istisqa, the prayer for rain.
Diab said Iraq is at the start of its water year and that storage “is not yet necessary,” saying the ministry’s immediate focus is securing the first irrigation cycle for wheat crops. The government approved planting across one million dunams in central and southern governorates. Areas that received rain can count it toward the first irrigation, he said, while regions that did not will be supplied with pumped river water.
He added that the ministry has opened the Haditha Dam at 400 cubic meters per second and the Mosul Dam at 150 cubic meters per second, pending incoming runoff from rainfall expected over the next two days.
[Source: 964 Media English]
