Deadly cocktail of war, climate exacerbates problems in Yemen

SANA’A, Yemen – While the war in Yemen is taking a heavy toll on the ground, nature has taken a toll on the country’s underground resources.

According to experts, the country’s most valuable resource, groundwater, is rapidly running out.

Every day, people have to travel long distances in search of water.

Children leave their homes early in the morning to join the queue at the nearest public pump.

Many of them have to walk long distances and sometimes wait for hours, hoping to fill their jerry cans and get to school on time.

Yemen is one of the countries with the greatest water shortages in the world.

The terrible mix of war and climate change has exacerbated the country’s water shortage.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, groundwater in the country is running out twice as fast as it is being replenished.

The organization says the country could run out of groundwater within 20 years.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the country’s piped water network reaches less than 30% of Yemenis.

This leaves millions to rely on private companies or unsafe wells.

Last month, a video circulated on social media purportedly showing a girl stabbed to death by her neighbor in the capital Sanaa over access to a water tank.

In April 2022, local media reported a fatal accident in Taez when a water truck ran over women and children waiting to collect water.