Iraqi woman on parched land in southern Iraq, image via MEMRI
The Middle East and North Africa are dry, with higher temperatures, fewer rivers, and less rain and snowfall than the rest of the world. Thanks to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Iraq is one of the richest countries in the region in terms of water resources—but millions of Iraqis nevertheless suffer from a lack of clean water as temperatures rise and desertification overtakes large parts of the country. This problem is badly mismanaged by the Iraqi government, as it is by other governments across the region, and is worsened by the malign actions of neighboring countries. If the water problem is not solved, Iraqi civilization could disappear completely.
