Lebanon is bracing for a summer drought, after a record dry winter exacerbated by a massive influx of Syrian refugees and longstanding water management problems. In Ammiq, in the east of the country, the effects of the dry winter are already visible. Farmer Khaled al-Kaabi has begun watering his fields a month earlier than usual because the rains that ordinarily feed his lands never came. "Usually we do this at the end of May, but this year the lack of rain has forced us to do it now," he said as he irrigating rows of wheat for animal feed.

 

Lebanon’s meteorological service says the country has had just 431 mm (17 inches) of precipitation since September, less than half last year’s 905.8 mm and far below the yearly average of 812 mm. The country hasn’t seen such low levels since 1932, when just 335 mm was recorded, according to Hadi Jaafar, assistant professor of irrigation engineering and water management at the American University in Beirut. B ut the increase in the country’s population since then makes this year’s drought far more serious, he said. [Link]