Climate Risk Profile Iraq

In Iraq, concerns are rising about the effects of climate change. In the last decades, the country has recurrently experienced heavy drought and flooding. Extreme heatwaves and air temperatures are already a major challenge, especially in the south of the country. Declines in water quantity and quality contribute to growing food and water insecurity, increase the risks associated with displacement, and undermine local and regional stability in Iraq. This profile provides an overview of projected climate parameters and related impacts on different sectors in Iraq until 2080 under different climate change scenarios provided by the IPCC¹ (called Representative Concentration Pathways, RCPs). RCP2.6 represents a low emissions scenario that aims to keep global warming below 2 °C above pre-industrial temperatures; RCP6.0 represents a medium to high emissions scenario. Model projections do not account for effects of future socioeconomic impacts.