Water levels have dramatically dropped in Balakian River in northeastern Erbil province. It is at risk of drying up because of climate change, posing a threat to the area’s agricultural sector and economy. 

Images show the river's water level has dropped significantly, reduced to a small stream in some parts and completely gone in others.

The loss of the water has had a direct impact on aquatic life and birds. Several bird species, such as geese and ducks that rely on the river for water and food, have now decreased in the area and face the risk of disappearing altogether.

Balakian river is located in the Soran administration. 

The region’s agricultural sector has also suffered major losses. Farmers in the Balakayati area on the Iranian border who depend on the river's water for irrigating their fields are worried about the future of their crops and are calling for urgent intervention.

Local residents say the river is drying up because of heat waves, drought, and decreased rainfall rates, which are part of the widespread effects of climate change in the Kurdistan Region and globally.

Halgurd Sheikh Najib, head of the Soran administration, told Rudaw on Saturday that they have intensified their efforts to confront the drought. 

"In the future, a dam will be built in the region,' he said.