Country

Iraq

Explore historical and projected climate data, climate data by sector, impacts, key vulnerabilities and what adaptation measures are being taken. Explore the overview for a general context of how climate change is affecting Iraq.

Country Context

The Republic of Iraq is a country in southwestern Asia. Iraq’s economy is dominated by the oil sector, which contributes about 60% to national gross domestic product. Iraq is topographically divided into four regions: the great Mesopotamian alluvial plains of the Tigris; the Euphrates Rivers; the mountains in the north and east; and the desert in the south and west. Over 40% of the country is desert, and is sparsely populated due to harsh weather conditions. In many parts of the country, good quality water is sparse due to salinity. Desertification and water scarcity due to river flow fluctuations render Iraq vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. Iraq  continues facing severe security challenges. The widespread insecurity since 2014 has created a major humanitarian crisis with 10 million people in need and over 3 million internally displaced persons. The standard of living has deteriorated and a noticeable share of the population has fallen into poverty or is extremely vulnerable to falling into poverty.

The Ministry of Environment  is the key coordinating body for development, coordination and implementation of environmental and climate change policies in Iraq. Iraq has yet to ratify the Paris Agreement as of March 2018, but the country has produced an Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, which can be found here (in Arabic).

Country level data at a glance

Climate Data

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Historical Trends

The section provides access to historical climate datasets for both temperature and precipitation from 1900 to 2016.

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Projected Trends

The section provides access to future climate datasets for both temperature and precipitation and their statistical derivatives for various timeframes and emission scenarios from 2020 to 2099.

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The section provides access to future climate datasets for both temperature and precipitation and their statistical derivatives for various timeframes and emission scenarios from 2020 to 2099.

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Climate by Sector

This section contains information from multiple climate indicators and indices relevant for key economic sectors. Simple narratives can help you interpret and extract summaries of potential climate change impacts at the sector level.

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Vulnerability

This section allows you to explore the susceptibility of livelihoods and natural systems to impacts from climate variability and change and facilitate the exploration of socioeconomic and development data and its relationships with natural hazards vulnerable areas.

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Impacts

This section allows you to explore the climate information from multiple climate indicators and present them with simple, embedded interpretation for an informative, high-level summary of the potential for future climate change impacts on key socioeconomic sectors.

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Adaptation

This section helps you grasp key national adaptation policies and reports, explore options for key sectors, and understand current adaptation gaps and needs for enhanced climate smart planning.

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