Rains revive Iraq’s wetlands after years of drought
Key takeaways
- Much-needed rain is bringing life back to the ancient ecosystem of the Huwaizah Marshes, after years of devastation.
- Running through almost the entire Huwaizah Marshes, the returning water is dotted with patches of greenery, with buffaloes soaking in it or wandering slowly nearby, grazing on the lush grass.
- Overhead, birds of many kinds flutter, their movements mirrored in the still water below, part of the protected biodiversity of these millennia-old Mesopotamian wetlands.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Much-needed rain is bringing life back to the ancient ecosystem of the Huwaizah Marshes, after years of devastation.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo. A fishing boat in the Hawizeh Marsh in Maysan province, southern Iraq, after water returned due to rainfall following a long period of drought. [Hussein Faleh/AFP]By AFPPublished On 29 Apr 202629 Apr 2026A fishing boat glides across the waters of Iraq’s southern marshes, sending ripples shimmering over the once-parched wetlands, now revived by long-awaited rains.
Running through almost the entire Huwaizah Marshes, the returning water is dotted with patches of greenery, with buffaloes soaking in it or wandering slowly nearby, grazing on the lush grass.