Turks block water to Euphratus: Mass fish die-off – new meanse and starvation for the residents in Iraq

Thousands of dead fish have surfaced in the Ibn Najim marshes in Iraq’s Najaf province, covering the water and alarming local residents with their stench and disturbing scenes.

Thousands of dead fish have surfaced in the Ibn Najim marshes in Iraq’s Najaf province, covering the water and alarming local residents with their stench and disturbing scenes.

Initial assessments by the Najaf Environment Directorate indicate that the fish were not poisoned but died due to severe oxygen depletion in the water.
-
Dead fish wash up on riverbank in drought-hit Iraq
The level of the Tigris River entering Iraq has dropped to just 35 percent of its average over the past century.
Fishermen stand in a boat as they inspect thousands of dead fish floating by the bank of the Amshan River. [Asaad Niazi/AFP] Published On 4 Jul 20234 Jul 2023Thousands of dead fish have washed ashore in southeast Iraq, prompting an official investigation into the wildlife disaster that officials say may be linked to drought conditions.
The fish washed up on the banks of the Amshan River in Majar al-Kabir, an area in Maysan province that borders Iran.
The region is home to fabled marshes in the floodplain of the Tigris River, already suffering from the effects of global warming.
Iraq’s agriculture ministry on Sunday announced it was forming a committee to look into the causes of the fish deaths, according to state news agency INA.
Environmental campaigner Ahmed Saleh Neema said “a rise in temperatures” leading to increased evaporation, coupled with reduced water flow contributed to “a lack of oxygen and high salinity” in the river.
Largely arid Iraq is ranked by the United Nations as one of the world’s five countries most affected by some effects of climate change. It endures blistering summer heat and frequent duststorms.
Declining rain over the past four years and upstream dams have reduced the flow of the Tigris and the Euphrates where ancient civilisations flourished.
Khodr Abbas Salman, a Maysan province official overseeing its marshes for the Iraqi environment ministry, said, “According to terrain analyses we have conducted, the level of oxygen [in the water] is zero, in addition to a rise in salinity levels.”
He joined a mission on Monday to inspect the deaths of “tonnes” of fish, he said, noting the Amshan is home to nine species. The fish “keep dying even now”, he said.
Samples from both the fish and the water will be “analysed … to determine if there is any presence of chemical substances”, Salman added.
But the high salinity levels may be enough to cause considerable damage. The water can no longer “be used for agriculture. It would scourge the land if farmers use it for irrigation,” Salman said.
He warned of further risks of pollution in the water and surrounding lands the more animals die.
“Any dead animal rots … which raises the level of pollution,” he said. “The water’s toxicity might increase and infiltrate the land too.”

The incident has raised growing concerns about environmental degradation and water quality issues in Iraq’s fragile southern ecosystems.



But the high salinity levels may be enough to cause considerable damage. The water can no longer “be used for agriculture. It would scourge the land if farmers use it for irrigation,” Salman said.
He warned of further risks of pollution in the water and surrounding lands the more animals die.
“Any dead animal rots … which raises the level of pollution,” he said. “The water’s toxicity might increase and infiltrate the land too.”
- https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/7/4/photos-dead-fish-wash-up-on-riverbank-in-drought-hit-iraq

Thousands of dead fish have surfaced in the Ibn Najim marshes in Iraq’s Najaf province, covering the water and alarming local residents with their stench and disturbing scenes.
- Previous West keeps printing money and dumping money by Arabs: Eid al-Adha in most of Asia feels pinch as rising costs put damper on festivities
- Next FBI foils plot againts US: Chinese bioterror suspects’ arrests signal communist country plotting ‘something worse’ than COVID
You may also like...
Recent Posts
- Defense pact with Saudi Arabia: Upbeat Pakistan celebrates rare moment of positive in foreign policy
- Israelis detent Malaysians of Global Sumud Flotilla: Malaysia intensifies diplomatic efforts
- Ankara to “respond” to violation of rights of Turk-Cypriots, after Greek-Cypriots discover major gas field with US Exxon
- Turks say its fighter jet won’t depend on any single foreign engine: as for now – no engine at all
- Kazakhs try to lock-up for themselves only the Trans-Caspian Transit Corridor to bypass Russian and Uzbek-Turkmen routes
- Up to 25% of major river’s water to be taken by Afghans: Taliban bullies Central Asian neighbors with Qosh Tepa Canal building
- Really Taiwan can say “NO”!? Taipei’s ‘no” to move half of chip production to US
- Trump to Erdogan: “Take the credit. For 2,000 years you’ve been trying to take over Syria, they’re your surrogates. I think you should take the credit for it,”
- EU-3 “Superpowers”, after defeating Israel, Russia and China, now teamed against Iran
- Who? Nvidia or Huawei, when Chinese market closed for to AI chips from USA
Random news
Views
- North Korea’s New Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile, the Hwasong-12: First Takeaways - 983 views
- Chinese military base in Djibouti necessary to protect key trade routes linking Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe - 970 views
- OIC, 57-nation Islamic body calls US travel ban a ‘grave concern’ - 699 views
- Goods from China start to be shipped by train to Europe: Luxembourg-Chengdu freight train route launched - 669 views
- What is wrong with JATECO Company’s business with Central Asian states!? Why Japanese standards of corporate governance and integrity in doing business are earning bad name with JATECO? - 626 views
- Kyrgyzstan actively working on start of construction of China—Kyrgyzstan—Uzbekistan railroad - 564 views
- Iran tested medium-range ballistic missile - 548 views
- Why Indians want to have white skin?! Pakistani authors thoughts. Article: The complexion of a new culture - 545 views
- China: Philippines can’t claim Benham Rise - 528 views
- Gabbard allies rush to her defense after Assad meeting - 511 views
About us
Our Newly established Center for study of Asian Affairs has
branches in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, as well as freelances in some other countries.
For inquires, please contact: newsofasia.info@yahoo.com Mr.Mohd Zarif - Secretary of the Center and administer of the web-site www.newsofasia.net
Polls
