FAO Sounds Alarm on Heat threat to Southern Iraq's Marshlands

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) expressed its "deep concerns" about the grave consequences of climate change and water scarcity on the marshes and buffalo producers in southern Iraq's fabled.

In a statement, FAO said that the marshes region is experiencing the most severe heat wave in the last 40 years, accompanied by a sudden water shortage in the Euphrates River".

"The dire situation is having a devastating impact on the marshes system, buffalo producers, farmers, and fisheries, forcing many of them" to leave the area, FAO said, citing alarming field reports" from its staff operating alongside Iraqi agriculture ministry staff.

The FAO said that in Chibayish, located in Dhi Qar province, "the water level of the Euphrates is only 56 centimeters (22 inches), and in the marshes from zero to 30 centimeters".

The UN agency noted high salinity levels exceeding 6,000 parts per million which have raised concern among farmers, especially buffalo herders and fishermen.

On his part, 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.

According to the reports' official figures, almost 70 percent of the marshes are devoid of water.