08 October 2015

BEIRUT/SIDON, Lebanon: Farmers were overjoyed Wednesday when winters first showers fell on their lands in south Lebanon, but experts remain wary of what the rains might bring in light of the ongoing garbage crisis in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. Farmers in the south stopped harvesting crops, waiting for the fresh precipitation to be absorbed, deeming the rains a blessing.

The rains washed over trees and watered swaths of olive and citrus orchards for hours.

God has blessed us with rainfall, said Abdel-Wahhab Ajami, a farmer.

This will contribute to making my citrus trees grow and will save me money on the irrigation work that requires me to operate engines and pumps.

Farmers rejoiced at the sight of the rainfall, expressing optimism that this winter season would bring them a bountiful harvest next year.

No modern technology, regardless of how developed it is can irrigate dunams of land like rain can, Hamed Abu Moujahed said.

Nevertheless, experts waited in anticipation of the impact Wednesdays rain would have on groundwater sources, especially as piles of trash still populate the capitals streets.

The heaviness of the rainfall today is enough for the impact [whether negative or positive] to be apparent within 12 or 24 hours depending on the response time of the springs, Jean Abi Rizk, a water sanitization expert, told The Daily Star.

The first possibility is that we will see turbidity in the water ... from the springs, he said. Also, from the springs an oily layer from the waste might come out as well.

Abi Rizk described the oily layer as extremely dangerous.

This oily layer is from the leftovers that come from waste, its a mixture of different things.

Even if this deposit doesnt visibly appear, Abi Rizk said the water should undergo laboratory tests in order to check for quality and other pollutants that might not be visible to the naked eye.

Lebanon is seeing low atmospheric pressure affecting the eastern basin of the Mediterranean, according to the morning weather forecast from the Meteorological Department at Rafik Hariri International Airport.

Thursdays weather will be shaped by cloudy skies and sporadic showers that are expected to intensify in bursts, especially in the south, the bulletin added.

Temperatures Thursday will range between 20 and 29 degrees Celsius along the coast, 12 and 21 in the mountains, 8 and 16 in the Cedars and 15 and 26 in the Bekaa Valley.

A source at the department told The Daily Star that the rain would mostly likely affect south Lebanon Thursday and Friday.

The weather forecast said that Fridays weather will be partially cloudy. It said that temperatures along the coast would remain the same Friday with insignificant increase in the Bekaa Valley and the mountains.

Possible sporadic showers at times are to be expected, but the bulletin added that there would be a gradual improvement of the weather starting in the afternoon.

Along the coast, temperatures Friday will range between 20 and 29 degrees, 12 and 22 in the mountains, 9 and 17 in the Cedars and 13 and 27 in the Bekaa Valley.

Copyright The Daily Star 2015.