Environment

A few Iraqi provinces suspend schools amid heavy rain forecast

Exacerbated by the climate change effects, Iraq has increasingly witnessed severe weather conditions, including extreme drought and destructive flooding.

Kurdistan 24 2023/12/28 13:03

Iraqi children cross a flooded street in the Iraqi capital Baghdad after heavy rains, Dec. 24, 2022. (Photo: Sabah Arar/AFP)

Iraq floods Iraq

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – At least three Iraqi provinces, including a district in the capital Baghdad, announced the suspension of schools amid heavy forecast on Thursday.

Anbar, Diwaniyah, Babylon, and Baghdad’s Karkh district all announced suspended schools as severe flood is feared as a result of heavy rainfall, the Iraqi News Agency announced early Thursday.

The measure has been taken to “protect the lives of citizens and students,” the official media agency reported.

Exacerbated by the climate change effects, Iraq has increasingly witnessed severe weather conditions, including extreme drought and destructive flooding.

Earlier this year, severe floods have left several dead in the country.

The lack of a drainage system and improved infrastructure are partially blamed for compromising the country’s climate resilience.

These droughts have caused a severe shortage of water for irrigation and domestic use, leading to the destruction of crops, displacement of people, and consequently, increased poverty.

Baghdad has frequently squabbled with Turkey and Iran over the siphoning of its water resources by several dams on its borders with the two neighbors.