Jordan to experience 'comfortable' summer, thanks to good rainfall

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AMMAN — With current wet season bringing "excellent" rainfall so far, Jordan is set to experience "comfortable" summer, an official said on Saturday.

Ministry of Agriculture spokesperson Omar Salama said that the summer in Jordan this year would be "a lot better" than that in 2023, thanks to the good rainfall and consequently dams' "adequate" water storage.

Salama said that the current winter season is far from over, with the arrival of the khamsiniyeh (the last 50 days of winter), which "typically brings 30 to 35 per cent of the total precipitation".

The spokesperson said that the water storage of the Kingdom's 15 major dams stands currently at 121 million cubic metres, 42 per cent of their overall storage capacity of 288.128 million cubic metres.

Asked if dams in Jordan have ever been full, the official said, "Never".

"Never in Jordan's history have dams ever reached their full storage capacity."

The Water Ministry's Jordan Valley Authority on Saturday said that the precipitation has raised the long-term annual average to 60.1 per cent of the total 8.1 billion cubic metres.

In 2023, during the same period, the long-term annual average stood at 39.7 per cent, the ministry said, adding that 2.250 million cubic metres of water flowed into the Kingdom's dams during the past 48 hours.