Jordan suffers summer of water shortages

[安曼]约旦人在近十年内面临近十年来最严重的水短缺，这是由于降雨量疲弱和在19日锁定期间过度使用的综合作用。

The arid country had only 60 per cent of the rainfall it usually gets between October 2020 and May 2021, leaving its four dams only 45 per cent full, official figures show.

同时，持续的共同19-19大流行提高了对水在锁定和增加的手洗，在10％到40％之间report约旦经济和社会委员会说。

Jordan’s Minister of Water and Irrigation, Muhammad Al-Najjar, blames the mismanagement of water resources in 2020 for the critical situation.

“The kingdom witnessed an excellent rainy season [last year], and a number of dams reached their full storage capacity, but we mishandled what was stored, and we did not anticipate the possibility that the year 2021 would be dry.

“In fact, we wasted water by providing farmers with large additional quantities of irrigation, above their approved quota.”

外交部敦促市民减少水分r consumption. But many residents have had enough of the strain on resources and disruption to water supplies. Fadi Abu Qura, who lives in the Tla’ Al-Ali suburb of the capital, Amman, toldscidev.net: “We always live in a water crisis, and I don’t know where all the rains go.

“We haven’t received sufficient quantities of water since last February, and we no longer know what day the water will come.”

Fadi Abu Qura，Amman居民

“自去年2月以来，我们还没有得到足够数量的水，我们不再知道水会到来的一天，而水抽水不会持续12个小时。”

他补充说：“大约一个月前，温度升高了，我们遭受了很多痛苦，并诉诸于从坦克那里购买水。这很昂贵，但我们别无选择。”

An official report last year on the state of Jordan’s water highlighted rising pressure on the country’s main water sources that were already stretched before the onset of COVID-19.

“The pandemic has delayed some projects, such as the national carrier for desalination and transportation of water from Aqaba to Amman,” said water ministry spokesman Omar Salameh, citing increasing operational and maintenance costs facing the water sector.

水库的状态，尤其是Al Wahda，Al Mujib和Al Wala，是夏季水供应是否安全的重要指标，因为必须将地下水与其他来源的水混合，以符合约旦饮用水标准。

乔丹谷管理局秘书Manar Almahasneh表示，今年夏天将“对农民来说很难”，根据针对短缺的配对政策，水配额减半。他将危机归因于“指定用于灌溉的水坝的不良存储”。

Almahasneh advised farmers to only plant on half of their农业land and to choose crops that consume less water.

The Union of Farmers in the Jordan Valley has warned of the consequences of reducing water allocations for irrigation, such as fewer crops and the potential impact on食品安全在国内。

Duraid Mahasneh, president of the Association for the Sustainability of Water, Environment and Renewable Energysaid the water problem in Jordan is more political than geographical.

“Since 1948, the kingdom has received refugees due to the conflicts in the region, and at a time when the kingdom’s water suffices two million people, the current population requires distributing it among 10 million,” he said. “Most of the surface water and groundwater sources are shared with neighbouring countries, and we are at their mercy.”

这篇文章是由Scidev.net的中东和北非桌子制作的，并为简短和清晰而编辑。