Iraq: thousands of dead fish wash up amid on-going drought

Masses of dead fish have washed up in the rivers of Iraq's marshlands, highlighting the impact of the climate crisis on the region. By Florian Meyer

  • A person holds a handful of dead fish in Maysan Governate, south-eastern Iraq (photo: Haidar Mohammed Ali/AA/picture alliance)
    In recent weeks, fishers have been coming across piles of dead fish washed up on the banks of the Amshan River in the southern Maysan Governorate
  • Fishers stand in a boat inspecting thousands of dead fish floating by the banks of the Amshan River (photo: Asaad Niazi/AFP)
    The fish deaths are linked to poor water quality in the Euphrates and Tigris delta, but the exact cause of the mass die-off has yet to be determined. The Agriculture Ministry and the Water Resources Authority are conducting separate investigations
  • Dead fish on the shore of a dried-up swamp, Dhi Qar Governate, southern Iraq (photo: Asaad Niazi/AFP)
    Dead fish also pile up on the water's edge in neighbouring Dhi Qar Governate. According to the UN, Iraq is one of the five countries most affected by climate change. Recent years have seen record temperatures of up to 55 degrees Celsius (131 degrees Fahrenheit), accompanied by a lack of rainfall. This, in turn, has had a negative impact on oxygen and salinity levels in rivers, and thus on fish stocks
  • A dead turtle lies upside down at the water's edge of the Amshan River in the Maysan Governate, south-eastern Iraq (photo: Asaad Niazi/AFP)
    This turtle also succumbed to the toxic conditions in the river. Every day, 5 million cubic meters of untreated wastewater flow into the Tigris River, which feeds water to the Amshan River, among others. The rotting fish further exacerbate the problem of poor water quality in the Amshan River
  • Iraqi buffalo herders gather reeds in the marshes of Chibayish while a water buffalo drinks water in the river, Dhi Qar Governate, southern Iraq (photo: Anmar Khalil/picture alliance/AP)
    The region is part of the Iraqi marshlands in the delta of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2016. For thousands of years, people have lived here in harmony with nature as fishers and buffalo herders. The culture of reed processing for building huts, among other things, has existed just as long
  • An aerial view of the dried-up marshes of Chibayish, Dhi Qar Governate, southern Iraq (photo: Asaad Niazi/AFP)
    The Marsh Arabs, as the region's inhabitants are called, are used to low precipitation. But since 2020 they have been experiencing the worst drought in 40 years. It's not just drought: dam and canal projects in neighbouring Turkey and Iran have led to a significant drop in the amount of water in the lower reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers
  • A boy walks on a boat on a dried-up section of the receding southern marshes of Chibayish, Dhi Qar Governate, southern Iraq (photo: Asaad Niazi/AFP)
    Orphaned boats in former riverbeds testify to the problems of these people, who can longer earn their living with fishing. In some cases, yields have dropped to a quarter of the former catch. Many have given up and are now trying their luck in the cities
  • The sun sets over an island paddock for water buffalo in Chibayish, Dhi Qar Governate, southern Iraq (photo: Nabil al-Jurani/AP Photo/picture alliance)
    The climate crisis is seriously threatening the survival of a millennia-old culture. Under former leader Saddam Hussein, the marshes were silted up by dams that the dictator ordered built in reaction to the Shia uprising of 1991 in southern Iraq. After his fall in 2003, the inhabitants tore down the dams and restored their original habitats