Rising temperatures lower water levels

/By AzerNews/

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan, a country with limited water resources, monitors its water levels quite seriously, especially in the dry summer months.

Today, as storm water overflows into the streets of capitals of neighboring countries, Azerbaijan survives a dry spell.

The weather is expected to be dry with a northeast wind and +31-36 C in the afternoon in Baku and Absheron peninsula this week, according to the National Hydrometeorology Department of the Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry.

In the regions of Azerbaijan the weather is also dry with a slight easterly wind with the temperature hitting +37-42 C.

Such a hot weather with weak winds and humidity in the morning is not favorable for sensitive people.

The weather is also not suitable for the rivers of the country. Bearing in mind that the amount of water per unit area and per capita in Azerbaijan is less than its neighboring Georgia by 7.7 and 8.3 times, and 2.2 and 1.7 times less than that of Armenia’s, the hot weather results in a decrease of water in the water reservoirs.

The Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry has reported that currently, water consumption is at 40-60 percent of the decade norm in rivers of Quba-Khachmaz region of Major Caucasus, 30-70 percent in Minor Caucasus rivers, 50-110 percent in Lankaran-Astara region rivers, and 10 percent in Nakhchivan.

An eleven cm fall in the water level was registered in Giragkesemen village along the Kura river. Currently water consumption holds at 259m3/sec in the village, i.e. 64 percent of decade norm. A six cm drop in the water level has been observed in Ayrichay settlement of Qanikh River, where water consumption holds at 54 percent of the decade norm.

The rise of the water level has been observed downstream on the Kura River.

The Ministry is currently focused on the situation along the Kura, Azerbaijan’s largest river. Monitoring carried out on the Kura and Aras trans-boundary rivers showed that water consumption in Kura river during the second half of June decreased in comparison with the first half of the month.

Another problem of the Azerbaijani rivers is pollution, especially in the Kura River that begins in northeastern Turkey, passes through Turkey to Georgia, then to Azerbaijan, where it flows into the Aras as a tributary and ultimately enters the Caspian Sea.

The monitoring showed that the amount of biological substances in Kura river was considerably more than the norm due to unpurified domestic wastes and slops from industrial enterprises being discharged directly into water bodies from the territories of Georgia and Armenia.

Phenols and copper compounds, as the specific contaminants in the water composition, exceeded the admissible turbidity level by fourfold in Shikli-2 settlement, thrice and eightfold in Agstafachay settlement, and thrice and fourfold in Agstafachay reservoir.

According to the outcomes of the monitoring conducted in the second week of March on the Aras River, phenols and copper compounds outnumbered the admissible turbidity level thrice and twice in Horadiz settlement, three and six times in Shahsevan settlement and three and five times in Bahramtapa settlement.

As more heat is still to come, the water level is a concern for the summer time.