MISHKHAB – Associated Press Iraq has banned its farmers from planting summer crops this year as the country grapples with a crippling water shortage that shows few signs of abating.
Citing high temperatures and insufficient rains, Dhafer Abdalla, an adviser to Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources, told The Associated Press that the country has only enough water to irrigate half its farmland this summer.
But farmers fault the government for failing to modernize how it manages water and irrigation, and they blame neighboring Turkey for stopping up the Tigris and Euphrates rivers behind dams it wants to keep building.
Water levels across these two vital rivers – which together give Iraq its ancient name, Mesopotamia, the land between the rivers – fell by over 60 percent in two decades, according to a 2012 report by the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
Iraq’s Natural Resources Ministry protests it does not have the budget to do that.
In one instance, they forced the closure of a levee along a branch of the Euphrates River to let the water levels rise for irrigation.
But Agriculture Ministry spokesman Hameed al-Naief told the AP that only 5,000 dunams (1,236 acres) of irrigated land could be allocated to the crop this summer, less than 3 percent of the area permitted last year.
About 70 percent of Iraq’s water supplies flow in from upstream countries.
Iraq’s Water Resources Ministry says it has enough water behind the Mosul Dam to guarantee adequate flow for a year, but experts say the Ilisu could take up to three years to fill, depending on rains.
The last moratorium on farming rice came in 2009, but that year farmers were permitted to grow other crops to shore up their income.

With mercury levels in their low 20s today, sun-worshippers are advised not to cancel their barbecues or trips to the beach just yet.
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“This weekend will be very sunny, with temperatures in western areas reaching to 24 to 25C,” a Met Eireann spokesperson said.
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According to Met Eireann’s monthly data report, rainfall for the Phoenix Park last month was measured at a mere 3.8mm – the lowest June figure since 1941.
Most of Ireland is not experiencing "absolute drought", which is defined as 15 or more days in a row with less than 0.2mm of rain.
Today will be somewhat cloudier compared with previous days, with a few spots of drizzle and light rain affecting parts of the west and northwest in the morning.
It will be cooler in the west and north, with top temperatures of 17C to 22C, but warm again over much of Leinster and Munster.
Tomorrow will be mainly dry, with maximum temperatures spanning the low 20s and warmer conditions in the midlands.
The ban was first introduced in the Greater Dublin Area on Monday.

In the north western province of Afghanistan, the reduced snowfall and scarce rains meant only one thing – Drought.
The drought which struck the province earlier this year resulted in a shortage of grazing land and drinking water, affecting almost 95% of the farmers who rely on agriculture and livestock as their main source of income and food.
Children living within these communities are also affected, having to miss school so that they could find small jobs to help make ends meet and purchase basic household items.
Along with 9 other family members.
Karim is also one of the many people who live in an internally displaced persons settlement in the provincial center of Badghis.
“This drought has been terrible for our livelihood this year, and is making life very difficult,” explains Karim.
“I left my home after the conflict and settled in the internally displaced settlement with my family.
The situation seems to be getting worse for all of us.” Many families have also been forced to sell the items in their house to buy food.
In some areas, it is reported that at least 150,000 heads of livestock have perished due to the drought.
Many people resorted to moving to neighbouring provinces in search of better income opportunities.

Although the start of June brought intense thunderstorms, especially on 1 and 8 June, dry and settled weather from the end of May dominated the first two weeks.
There was a break in the fine weather for the third week of the month, however, Storm Hector passed close to the northwest, giving two days of rain and gales.
This was the last significant rainfall for farmers as thereafter there has been a surge in temperatures.
From 21 June, a settled and exceptionally dry period followed, with a heatwave and partial drought conditions reported.
Valid from Saturday 30 June 2018 10:00 to Friday 06 July 2018 23:59https://t.co/oOxITrsnvw pic.twitter.com/AW1b3yUkvl — Met Éireann (@MetEireann) June 30, 2018 Rainfall Roscommon was the only location were rainfall totals were not below their long-term average for the month (up 11%).
To help out farmers with a lack of fodder, Glanbia has even imported forage for their suppliers.
A mix of alfalfa and soya was divided among some Kilkenny farmers on Monday.
Temperature The month’s lowest temperatures were recorded on 22 June in Roscommon at 2.1 °C.
The highest temperature was hit on 28 June at Shannon Airport, Co Clare, with a temperature of 32 °C.
Yesterday’s Maximum Temperatures at 1800 GMT (between 7am and 7pm local time): pic.twitter.com/9hSzUraMYv — Met Éireann (@MetEireann) June 30, 2018 Sunny days Monthly sunshine totals were highest at Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford with 279.9 hours and they were recorded lowest at Malin Head, Co Donegal with 199.3 hours.

CNN Video (CNN) – Dozens of wildfires tore across wide swaths of Alaska, California, Colorado and other western states Wednesday, with meteorologists warning of more blazes due to strong winds, dry conditions and low humidity.
About 70 fires have consumed around 700,000 acres, from Alaska — where 19 large blazes were reported — to California, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah, where at least six wildfires continue to burn in each state, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.
The risk of new fires throughout the drought-stricken Western US remains high amid the expected use of fireworks by revelers over the Fourth of July holiday.
Ed Delgaldo, the center’s national program manager for predictive services, said in a video on the agency’s website that significant drought conditions across the Four Corners region — the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico — have persisted heading into the peak summer months.
Gary Herbert issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency for all of Utah because of the wildfire threat.
In addition, hundreds of central Colorado residents were unable to dial 911 on Tuesday because of a Verizon and Charter phone outage attributed to the fire, the station reported.
On Saturday, Jesper Joergensen, 52, was arrested on arson charges linked to the Spring Creek fire, the Costilla County Sheriff’s Office said.
Joergensen, who is not a US citizen, will remain in detention until he has put up bond or has completed all judicial processes, after which he will be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Matt Booth told KCNC that their family’s historic summer home in La Veta, Colorado had been reduced to rubble in the fire.
Cal Fire reported that in northern California’s Yolo County, a wildfire that started Saturday afternoon had grown to 70,000 acres and was 5% contained, according to CNN affiliate KCRA.

Met Éireann issues nationwide drought warning until at least Friday night A large part of the country has not experienced rainfall in 13 days with warm and sunny weather conditions expected to continue into early next week.
“There was some rainfall in parts but there’s been drought up to now in the east and south east but our advisory says that will become even more widespread this week,” she told The Irish Times.
“Our charts go up to 10 days and they’re showing no change Monday through to Wednesday next week.” Ms Byrne said Met Éireann will review the drought warning over the coming days and whether it may be extended.
Tuesday is expected to be warm and dry with good sunshine with highest temperatures of 27 degrees.
Patchy cloud will develop in southern coastal areas on Tuesday night with minimum temperatures between 9 and 14 degrees.
Wednesday is forecast to be warm and dry in most areas with sunshine.
However, cloud will increase from the south and a few scattered showers will develop during the afternoon and evening, most likely in parts of Munster and Leinster.
Friday will see a return to dry, warm and mostly sunny conditions with maximum temperatures in the low to mid-20s.
Growers have had to pay more attention and are using a lot more water at the moment, which means that fruit crops will be smaller and sweeter, he told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland on Tuesday.
Grain specialist Bobby Miller said it will be September or October before some tillage farmers will know the full extent of the impact of the extreme weather conditions so far this year.

Heading into the heart of summer, drought conditions have held steady in San Luis Obispo County but worsened in other parts of the state.
Abnormally dry and moderate drought conditions have spread along the Northern California coast and into fire-scorched areas north of the Bay Area, according to recent U.S. Drought Monitor maps.
Much of the Central Coast was saved from severe drought conditions after "Minor Miracle March" storms swept through the area during the spring.
Most of San Luis Obispo County has continued to experience moderate drought conditions since then, with a chunk of the region remaining in a severe drought and a small area in the northwest corner that’s abnormally dry.
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I’m not a robot reCAPTCHA Privacy – Terms Drought conditions have worsened in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, and all along the Southern California coast.
And central and northern coastal areas from Monterey County all the way up to the California border are experiencing abnormally dry conditions.
And the weather is only expected to get hotter and drier.
A heat wave is set to hit Southern California this week, spreading fire conditions throughout the state.
Lindsey Holden: 805-781-7939, @lindseymholden Related stories from San Luis Obispo Tribune Northern California wildfires, map: Hot weather and gusty winds worsen some blazes As wildfire rages in the north, SoCal prepares for record heat, fire risk and rip currents

It’s safe to say summer in KELOLAND is in full swing with the forecast calling for 90s.
We’ve already seen a few days in the 90s this summer.
Another sign of summer is a drought somewhere in the Midwest.
Last year at this time, we had widespread severe drought in north-central and northwest South Dakota with spotty extreme drought conditions in the north-central part of the state.
This year, the drought monitor isn’t as bad, but we still have a severe drought centered over Brown, Spink, Faulk, and Edmunds counties.
It goes without saying but droughts are just not good.
One aspect that makes them bad is they feed themselves.
A little drought starts, which makes it hotter.
That extra heat makes it harder for it to rain, which makes it drier.
Which makes it hotter, which makes it harder to rain and that cycle goes round and round until a change in the season.

Cape Town – Snowfall on the high-lying areas of the Western Cape was expected to bring much-needed recharge relief to the province’s dams.
Significant rainfall also had a positive effect on the dam levels of the province, the national department of water and sanitation said.
According to the latest dam levels assessments of 02 July 2018, the combined average dam levels for the Western Cape Water Supply System(WCWSS) are at48.33% as compared to 42.33% last week."
The Clanwilliam dam on the West Coast is also showing an improvement from 57.46% last week to 67.69% this week.
The total storage for Western Cape dams is 41.50%.
"The South African Weather Services reports snow over of the mountain peaks in the province, with significant rainfall recorded in the province over the past 24 hours.
More rain is expected throughout the day in most parts of the province," he said.
Levels of water in the rivers rise and this means people must be careful when crossing these rivers”, said Ratau.
Following declining water levels in the dams, the department intensified some measures by decreasing the abstraction of water from the WCWSS by 45% for domestic and industries and 60% for the agricultural sector.
These remain in place until a review of the status is done at the hydrological cycle upcoming," the department said.

IFA President Joe Healy said the current dry weather is causing problems for farmers who rely on solely on rainfall for grass and crop growth.
On Monday he said: “We are dealing with a once-in-a-generation weather event which is posing really difficult challenges for some farmers.
Lettuce and other vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower could be also face short supply as high temperatures and little rainfall can effect production.
“Crop losses look inevitable with growers facing a situation where winter crops in the ground are stressed, and spring crops planted about eight weeks ago have not had any rain since” Mr Healy added.
“The continuing trend of low prices on the one side and increasing input prices on the other is placing cereal and vegetable production in this country under threat.
“All stakeholders will have to sit up and take note of the difficulties farmers are facing and realise that they must work with their growers to sustain them through this difficult period.” Graham Cunningham, a buyer for Total Produce Food Service, said: “I’ve spoken to local growers who have said if it doesn’t rain soon there will be shortages of produce, definitely.
“They seem to be kept going for now, but they’re taking it day by day.
“If there is shortages, companies like ours are forced to import produce from abroad which could have a knock on effect in price eventually.” Very warm and sunny this afternoon and evening with highest temperatures of 22 to 27 degrees in relatively low humidity.
Northerly breezes will keep temperatures slightly cooler along coastal areas of Ulster and Connacht.
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) July 2, 2018 Irish Water has agreed to accommodate farmers impacted by reduced water supply from public water sources, to ensure they have sufficient water for animals and other needs on farms.