Lebanon is currently battling what experts say is the worst drought in the country’s recorded history, and it’s taking a heavy toll. The Litani River, home to the country’s largest water reservoir, Lake Qaraoun, has reached dangerously low water levels. This drop is now threatening farming, electricity generation, and access to clean water.
According to the Litani River National Authority, rainfall this season failed to replenish the lake. Normally, around 350 million cubic meters of water would flow into the reservoir each year. This year, the inflow was barely 45 million, a massive decline compared to last year’s 230 million. To make matters worse, the water remaining in the lake, roughly 61 million cubic meters, is too polluted for use.
“This is the driest year we’ve ever seen,” said Sami Alawieh, head of the river authority. He explained that droughts occurred in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, but none as severe as this one. Now, the entire country is experiencing widespread water shortages.
Drone footage of Lake Qaraoun reveals a stark image: dry, cracked ground and vegetation long dead.
Hydroelectric plants that rely on water from the Litani Basin have been shut down, worsening Lebanon’s electricity crisis. Alawieh noted that this has led to significant financial setbacks and more electricity rationing from the national power company, Electricite du Liban.
A recent study by the river authority links the current situation to climate change. Rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns have made dry seasons more frequent, reducing both soil moisture and groundwater recharge.
In some regions, electricity supply has been cut from 20 hours a day to just 10, making irrigation even harder for farmers.
In the fertile Bekaa Valley, farmers are already feeling the pressure. “I’ve never seen a year this dry,” said Safa Issa, who recalls times when snow covered the ground by a metre. “Now, we haven’t seen that in a decade.”
Fayez Omais, another farmer, added that the unstable electricity supply is making it difficult to run irrigation systems. “We water the crops for three hours, then stop for three,” he said.
To help ease the strain, a nationwide campaign to raise public awareness about water conservation is expected to roll out within the next 10 days, according to Suzy Hoayek, an adviser to Lebanon’s Ministry of Energy and Water.
“The key now is to reduce demand,” she emphasized.
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Source: Reuters
