Advocacy Note | Water Scarcity and Climate Risks in Iraq

Eight Million People Face Water-Related Life-Threatening Risks if Bold and Coordinated Action is Not Taken Now

BAGHDAD, December – Heavy rains over the past two weeks triggered floods across Iraq, sweeping away homes, blocking highways, and claiming lives. In Sulaymaniyah alone, at least two fatalities were reported, with widespread damage in nearby towns. The floods exposed Iraq’s fragile infrastructure and growing vulnerability to extreme weather. As climate change intensifies, more instability—with both severe droughts and heavy rainfall—is likely to be in the future. Without urgent action to build resilience, such disasters will continue to threaten lives and livelihoods.

Iraq faces an unprecedented water crisis that threatens every aspect of life—health, food security, energy, and economic stability. Prior to the recent flood event, consecutive years of drought, declining rainfall, and reduced inflows have pushed national water reserves to an 80 year low of approximately 4 billion cubic meters. In the southern governorates of Basra, Thi-Qar, Maysan, and Al-Muthanna, families are struggling to find safe water, forcing thousands to displace. The Al-Gharraf River, a lifeline for over four million people, is shrinking fast. In the north, major reservoirs such as Mosul and Dokan are at critically low levels, and water rationing has been introduced across Nineveh, Erbil, Dohuk, Kirkuk, and Sulaymaniyah.

Water scarcity has had devastating effects for health, livelihoods, and stability. As of September 2025, 31,001 families (186,006 people) remain displaced due to climatic factors, with 63 percent moving from rural to urban areas. Summer and winter cropping in 2025 were banned for over 4 million hectares.

As rivers declined, communities have turned to groundwater. Wells are drying up faster than they can be replenished, and water quality is worsening. Climate change is intensifying the crisis,extreme droughts like the one in 2023 are now 25 times more likely because of global warming. What was once rare is becoming normal.

"Eight million people face water-related life-threatening risks if bold and coordinated action is not taken now," said Ghulam Isaczai, UN Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq. " Climate change is turning rare droughts into regular disasters, putting Iraq’s water security—and its health, agriculture, and economy—at grave risk. This is not just a humanitarian crisis; it is a development emergency that demands urgent, united action."

What Needs to Happen Now

Iraq’s water crisis demands systemic solutions that go beyond emergency measures. The UN Iraq Water Task Force urges the adoption of a national Integrated Water Resource Management framework to coordinate water allocation across sectors, strengthen monitoring systems, and enforce sustainable groundwater limits. A water security approach where flooding events support water storage for the future and Early Warning Systems are used to avoid disasters should be followed. At the same time, Iraq must fast-track investments in reducing water losses, in water harvesting schemes (dams or recharging aquifers), wastewater treatment and reuse, and modern irrigation systems, while incentivizing private sector participation. High-level diplomatic engagement with riparian countries is essential to secure equitable water-sharing agreements, backed by transparent data exchange and joint climate adaptation projects. Donors must mobilize resources for Early Warning Systems, water resilience, wastewater treatment, climate adaptation, and regional cooperation. All stakeholders must ensure immediate measures do not compromise long-term resilience. Civil society and the public must engage in conservation campaigns. These steps are critical to safeguard health, food security, energy supply, and economic stability.

Without bold, coordinated action, Iraq’s water crisis will undermine health systems, food production, energy supply, and economic stability. Water security is national security. The time to act—together—is now.

About the UN Iraq Water Task Force: Established in 2023, the Task Force coordinates UN agencies, government institutions, donors, and partners to support Iraq's water priorities under the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2025–2029).