The precipitation obstructed traffic within and between many Iraqi cities, due to the formation of thundering torrents and the accumulation of snow, as happened on mountain roads in the Kurdistan region, while the night temperatures fell below zero, especially in the mountainous cities and towns.
To comment on the climatic disturbances that Iraq is witnessing in general, accompanied by a wave of rain and snow in very cold weather, Dara Hassan, former director of the Department of Meteorology and Seismic Monitoring in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, said in an interview with Sky News Arabia: “We are facing a record cold winter. And its precipitations, especially snowy ones, where for the first time a temperature of 27 degrees below zero was recorded in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and this extremely low degree is a precedent in Iraq, these huge snow and rain precipitations accompanied by strong and very cold winds were never expected.
The former director of the Department of Meteorology and Seismic Monitoring adds: “These heavy snows, which will continue to rain until the 20th of this month, in many parts of northeastern and western Iraq, will return to rain according to our expectations on January 24, early next week, when there will be a polar wave. It will strike Iraq in the north in particular.”
And this intensity in the downpour of rain and snow will positively affect the surface and underground water reserves in Iraq, as the climatologist explains, adding: “which suffers from the repercussions of drought, water scarcity and lack of rainfall over the past two years, but what we are witnessing now is a wave of snow in the Kurdistan region and waves Rain pervading the various Iraqi governorates, from Basra in the south to Nineveh in the north, will undoubtedly contribute to alleviating the catastrophic effects of drought and desertification and their repercussions on the water and food security of millions of Iraqis.
The Iraqi Meteorological Authority had confirmed that the country will witness rain and snow over the days, starting from Sunday.
The Meteorological and Seismic Monitoring Authority expected snow in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Monday, considering that there is a chance of snow falling over the capital.
.