Jordan | The most prominent of what was mentioned in the media briefing from the Arab weather about the rainy reality and expectations for the remainder of winter 2023

Weather of Arabia - Various regions of the Levant, including Jordan, have witnessed, since the start of the winter season, a decrease in the amounts of precipitation, and an almost complete absence of major weather events (depressions). In the form of a live broadcast on his official accounts, in which he hosted a number of experienced guests, to talk about the rainy situation in Jordan and the Levant, its effects and its relationship to climate change.

The media briefing, with the participation of the distinguished guests, dealt with the following topics:

• Rainfall and climate change.
• The impact of the current rainy situation on the water and agricultural sectors.
• What after square 2023?

The rainy situation in Jordan and the countries of the Levant, and is it related to climate change?

In an interview with Dr. Jamal Al-Mousa, on the 2023 quadrature assessment and the rainy reality assessment so far in Jordan, Al-Mousa confirmed that there is a weakness in rain performance, especially in the northern regions of the Kingdom, which are areas that are usually characterized by high precipitation rates compared to the rest of the Kingdom’s regions. These areas are also characterized by the presence of agricultural lands, which increases The need for precipitation.

Weakness of the rainy season 2022/2023 in the countries of the Levant and its effects

From Palestine, Qusai Al-Halayqa, director of Al-Watan Weather website, told us that the rainy performance in Palestine is below average and below normal, but we cannot link it to climate change, as the rainy performance has fluctuated over the past four years, and some of them were very good seasons, and therefore it is not possible to take This season as an example of climatic changes in the region.

Al-Halayqa added some of the negative effects of the 2023 square reality, which are as follows:

• Weak rain performance: There are agricultural crops that need large amounts of rain, and this has not yet been achieved. Therefore, there may be indirect effects by increasing the prices of these agricultural products.
• Absence of cold: Some crops need low temperatures to set the fruits, and this did not happen, as higher than average temperatures prevailed, and therefore this may reduce the productivity of some agricultural crops.
• Temperatures: Higher temperatures than average at this time may lead to the spread of insects and agricultural pests.

From Lebanon, George Al-Qarih, director of the “Weather of Lebanon” website told us, and the rain performance in Lebanon was also similar in that the rainfall in the 2022/2023 season was less than the annual averages, and the country also witnessed not good patterns of precipitation. As it fell during the months of October and November, huge amounts of rain, but it occurred during short periods of time, which the earth cannot absorb, and therefore the rain water does not leak into the groundwater reservoirs, but rather drifts on the surface in the form of torrents.

Al-Qareh added that during the months of December and January, due to the control of the tropical air high in the upper layers of the atmosphere over the regions of northeastern Africa, passing through the eastern basin of the Mediterranean, which prevented the arrival of air depressions in our region, and thus the occurrence of a state of stability in weather conditions and a lack of precipitation.

The impact of the current rainy situation on the water sector

Omar Salama, the media spokesman for the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, said that the rainy season in Jordan has so far reached 40% of the general rainy season.

Salama explained that the Kingdom receives an average of 8.1 million cubic meters of rain annually, which was previously distributed over 55 rainy days, but it has shrunk in recent years to about 30 rainy days in all regions of the Kingdom, and this rain distribution greatly affected the amount of water. And the water reality in the Kingdom.

Salama gave an example of this with regard to the springs, which had a total of 861 water springs (in 1970) with a production capacity of 250 million cubic meters, of which about 195 springs have now dried up, and the water flow from the existing springs has decreased by almost half, so that their productivity is now It does not exceed 120 million cubic meters, and this is a result of fluctuating rainfall in addition to urban and population expansion, which affected the water supply to these springs.

Groundwater recharge has also declined, and the water level has decreased in many groundwater basins in the Kingdom.

The impact of the current rainy situation on the agricultural sector

Mahmoud Al-Auran, Director of the Jordanian Farmers Union, spoke about the impact of rain performance, especially what the northern and central regions of the Kingdom witnessed in terms of below-average precipitation. As for the southern and eastern regions, they witnessed higher-than-average precipitation amounts, but it was rain resulting from atmospheric instability. Negative for the agricultural sector, as the lands receive large amounts of rain in a short time, which leads to erosion in the soil.

The agricultural sector has witnessed negative effects due to the lack of sufficient cold for the fruiting bushes during the winter quarters, as these trees need about 200-1000 hours of cold to complete certain physiological functions before setting the fruits, but higher temperatures than average at this time of the year will affect the The process of flowering and fruit set, and therefore the quality of the fruits will vary. Temperatures also activate some agricultural pests and epidemics.

What after square 2023? What are the chances of snowfall?

Turning to the last axis, the two colleagues: Muhammad Al-Shaker and Osama Al-Tarifi talked about the expected weather conditions in the Kingdom in the remainder of Al-Muraba’iyah, and about the chances of snowfall in the remainder of the winter season, and what are the expectations for the coming period.

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