Impacts of Climate Change in Jordan

Today we sat in on a conference call with Dr. Fayez Abdulla, a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at JUST. Incidentally, Dr. Abdulla studied under Professor Dennis Lettenmaier at the University of Washington.

Professor Abdulla has been studying the impacts of climate change---which is real and is caused by human activity---on the water balance in Jordan. To talk about the impacts of climate change, first you need to know about the current state of the water supply. Jordan is a water scarce country, which is defined as having access to less than 1,000 cubic meters (264,000 gallons) of freshwater per person per year. The US has an estimated 9,000 cubic meters (2.4 million gallons), while Jordan has a scant 140 (37,000 gallons). 

If you live in the US, I want you to imagine cutting your water use in half, and then in half again, and do that four more times. Now picture your shower time. If you showered this morning for 10 minutes, you now have 9.4 seconds for your shower. This is the current state of the water supply in Jordan.

Due to conflicts in the region, Jordan has seen an influx of refugees in the past two decades, as well as decreased supply related due to disputes over freshwater shared with neighboring Syria and Israel. So demand has increased but supply has decreased.

A Map of the Water Resources in Jordan
(Source: mappery.com)

Results from Dr. Abdulla's study suggested that:

1. Higher temperatures are expected to reduce runoff and groundwater recharge.
2. Precipitation will decrease during October through February, the months when Jordan typically receives 80% of its rainfall.
3. Precipitation will increase slightly during March through May.

To summarize, climate change will make a bad situation worse, further decreasing supply to an already overtaxed system. On the upside, Jordan is very aware of their water situation and they have numerous government agencies addressing water planning and the creative sourcing of alternative water supplies. Thanks to the work of Dr. Abdulla, Jordan now has a better understanding of these challenges.