Iraq’s water resources ministry is planning to build more than 35 dams across the country in 2024 in an attempt to combat worsening drought and water scarcity, state media reported on Monday. Water Resources Minister Aoun Diab told state-owned newspaper al-Sabah that Iraq plans to construct 36 water retention dams over the next year. He said that scientific indicators forecast an early downpour in this year’s autumn and winter seasons, after four years of drought in the country.

Construction of two dams will start this year, with the first being the Abu Takiya dam near Shingal and Rabia areas in the Badia desert in the northwest of the country, and the second being the al-Masad dam in the western desert region. According to Diab, the construction designs for the two dams have been completed.

In August, Khaled al-Shamali, spokesman of the Iraqi ministry of water resources, told Rudaw that the current water reserves in Iraq are the lowest in country’s history, having reduced to 5-billion-meter cubes. The danger of drought and desertification threatens Iraq and the region, and the rapid drop in water levels threatens the lives of locals, livestock, and agriculture in the country.

In March, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara where he sought to increase the release of water downstream to Iraq. Erdogan agreed to double the water release from the Tigris River for a period of a month.

A report by Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources towards the end of last year predicted that unless urgent action is taken to combat declining water levels, Iraq’s two main rivers will be entirely dry by 2040.

According to the United Nations, Iraq is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, including water and food insecurity. It is facing a severe water shortage because of reduced precipitation and higher temperatures, and waste and mismanagement. The crisis is worsened by dams upstream in Turkey and Iran that have led to a significant decrease in the volume of water entering the country.

The UN Environment Program (UNEP) has long warned that water availability in Iraq will decrease by around 20 percent by 2025, threatening the long-term stability of agriculture and industry sectors.