Lebanon is grappling with its worst drought on record as water levels at the country’s largest reservoir on the Litani River fall to unprecedented lows. The crisis is threatening agriculture, electricity production, and basic water supplies for millions of people. Officials from the Litani River National Authority confirmed that inflows to Lake Qaraoun during this year’s wet season barely reached 45 million cubic meters, far below the annual average of 350 million cubic meters.
The figure represents a dramatic decline from last year’s 230 million cubic meters. The depleted state of Lake Qaraoun, already heavily polluted and long unsuitable for drinking or irrigation, leaves Lebanon’s water security on a knife-edge. “We are facing a water scarcity problem across all Lebanese territories and water basins,” said Sami Alawieh, head of the Litani River Authority, who described the drought as the worst since records began. He noted that while Lebanon experienced severe dry years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, 2025 has surpassed them in severity.
Drone images circulating from Lake Qaraoun show the reservoir reduced to barren patches of cracked earth and decaying vegetation, stark evidence of the crisis. The situation has forced the shutdown of Lebanon’s hydroelectric plants connected to the Litani basin, which Alawieh said is worsening the country’s chronic electricity shortages and inflicting further financial strain on the state-run Electricité du Liban.
Litani River water crisis deepens Lebanon’s environmental disaster
“We have two factors: the decline in rainfall and the pressure on groundwater,” Alawieh explained, adding that climate change, rising temperatures, and shifting weather patterns have intensified the depletion of groundwater resources, leaving vast areas parched and unproductive. Lebanon’s worsening water crisis comes amid one of the deepest economic collapses in modern history. The World Bank has repeatedly classified Lebanon’s financial meltdown as among the worst globally since the mid-19th century. Years of political paralysis, endemic corruption, and mismanagement have gutted public institutions, including those responsible for managing water infrastructure.
Lebanon’s banking sector, once considered the backbone of its economy, has effectively been insolvent since 2019, trapping depositors’ savings and dismantling trust in financial governance. The collapse of infrastructure is mirrored in the water sector. Years of neglect and misappropriation of public funds have left vital water networks deteriorating beyond repair. The Litani River, once a vital artery for Lebanon’s farmers, has become so polluted that health authorities have warned against human contact with its waters. Meanwhile, farmers who rely on the basin for irrigation now face ruin as crops wither in fields that cannot be watered.
Compounding the crisis is the absence of any coherent national strategy to address water scarcity. Successive governments have failed to invest in sustainable water management or climate resilience, leaving the country exposed to the mounting impacts of global warming. Experts warn that without urgent intervention, Lebanon faces a prolonged environmental and humanitarian disaster with consequences stretching far beyond the Litani basin. – By Content Syndication Services.