Severe drought affects 22% of Azerbaijan's land in 2023: Ministry says

In 2023, 22% of Azerbaijan's land, or 19,094 hectares, experienced severe drought, according to recent evaluations.

Firudin Taghiyev, Head of the Land Use Control Department at the Ministry of Agriculture, shared these findings during the "Role of Water Management Systems in Climate-Resistant Agriculture: COP29 Round Table Discussions," Azernews reports.

Taghiyev noted that the most affected areas include the Ganja-Dashkasan, Garabagh, Upper-Shirvan, Gazakh-Tovuz, and Shirvan-Salyan economic regions.

Additionally, an assessment using optical satellite imagery revealed that 15% of the country is at high risk of drought.