Shafaq News- Baghdad

Air pollution is killing an estimated 69,000 Iraqis each year and climate-driven water shortages are pushing the country toward an existential crisis, a lawmaker warned Wednesday, urging parliament to treat environmental degradation as a national security threat.

Bassem Al-Gharabi, a member of the Ishraqat Kanoon bloc, stated in a press conference at the Iraqi parliament that Iraq faces “10 major risks” spanning security, social stability, health, and the environment. He said recent data show 15 deaths per 100,000 people annually linked to air pollution, equivalent to roughly 69,000 deaths nationwide, placing Iraq within a global trend that sees around 8 million deaths each year attributed to polluted air.

Read more: The air we breathe: How pollution is quietly rewriting Iraq’s future

Al-Gharabi described water scarcity as an “existential danger,” arguing that Iraq has entered a phase of structural water deficit due to declining flows in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers over recent years. Water, he noted, is now a matter of national security.

He cited research indicating the presence of toxic substances and fuel residues in both rivers, alongside air quality index readings reaching 301, levels considered hazardous. Desertification, he added, now affects 40% of Iraq’s territory, with 71% of agricultural land at risk and forest cover reduced to just 2%. Dust storms, which he described as a cross-border “climate weapon,” have caused thousands of suffocation cases while disrupting economic activity, schools, and airports. Climate-induced displacement from drought has forced thousands to migrate internally, contributing to unemployment and broader social instability, he said.

Al-Gharabi also warned of economic vulnerability as industrialized nations accelerate moves away from fossil fuels while Iraq remains heavily dependent on oil revenues. He criticized “administrative shortcomings,” pointing out that climate change is absent from previous parliamentary legislation and calling for the creation of an independent environmental committee within parliament.

Iraq, ranked among the five countries most vulnerable to climate change according to United Nations reports, continues to face a worsening drought fueled by declining rainfall and reduced river flows from upstream countries, including Turkiye and Iran. Official data from relevant ministries show that annual inflows have fallen to between 25 and 40 billion cubic meters in recent years, compared with historical levels that often exceeded 70 billion cubic meters. The decline has shrunk arable land, accelerated desertification, and strained food security, intensifying pressure on rural communities, with the Strategic Center for Human Rights reporting that Iraq has lost nearly 30% of its farmland over the past three decades.

Read more: The cost of filth: Iraq among the world’s most polluted nations