In the last three decades the Dead Sea’s level has fallen almost 100 feet! What is happening? Jordan is experiencing massive droughts as the Dead Sea continues to evaporate. The Dead Sea is extremely salty, but when it evaporates, freshwater rushes in and takes its place, dissolving subterranean salt layers deep beneath the surface. The soil collapses, creating sinkholes, some enormous. One sinkhole swallowed the edge of a state-owned building. Another one swallowed a chunk of highway. Farmers have seen parts of their fields and crops disappear. But the most serious and devastating effect is the loss of drinking water for this water-starved nation. It is a mix of factors that is threatening Jordan and its water shortage: “ballooning population, regional conflicts, chronic industrial and agricultural mismanagement and now climate change.”

Farmers can’t use tractors because the land is too weak. They have resorted to plowing manually. Desalinization is currently too costly an option. Jordan is a landlocked desert kingdom. There are only nine countries in the world getting less annual precipitation than Jordan. The low supply of water coupled with increasing demand has forced the government to ration water delivery. Many residents turn to illegal drilling of water wells. Neighboring countries have their own water shortage problems and are unable to help Jordan solve its water crisis. The old adage can now be changed to: “Water, water nowhere; not a drop to drink.”

Sources:

• The Dead Sea is dying. Drinking water is scarce. Jordan faces a climate crisis

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