![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/KZHD7BGWHPZICRLAR4N7CAOYQY.jpg?smart=true&auth=6928773c01bdc24a51368ac4d418e46d365397928cc8b84442bfd5f2393bc9b9&width=400&height=225)
Downtown Amman, Jordan, 10 May. Jordan receives less than 50 millimetres of rainfall per year and is heavily dependent on domestic aquifers for its water supply. Andre Pain / EPA
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A man helps a girl to fill jerry cans with water from a cistern at a make-shift camp for displaced Yemenis, in the northern Hajjah province on April 29, 2020, amid a severe shortage of water. Essa Ahmed/ AFP
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Boys eat their Iftar meal provided by a group of volunteers in a damaged neighbourhood, amid fear for the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Atarib, Aleppo countryside Syria May 7. In Syria, UNICEF is transporting clean water via lorries into some of the most devastated cities and IDP camps, but this is only a temporary solution and further highlights the need for better water management to combat future viral outbreaks. Khalil Ashawi / Reuters
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A flooded street in the New Cairo suburb of the Egyptian capital amid a heavy storm, March 12. AFP
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Rain in Dubai in January flooded the street connecting Sheikh Zayed Road to Madinat Jumeirah. Antonie Robertson / The National
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The UAE was struck by rain, hail and strong winds, November 2019, Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National
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Children riding a donkey return home with jerrycans filled with water from a cistern, at a make-shift camp for displaced Yemenis in the northern Hajjah province on April 29, amid a severe shortage of water. Yemen has suffered years of war that have driven millions from their homes and plunged the country into the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Essa Ahmed/ AFP
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A flooded portion of the ring road that encircles the Egyptian capital Cairo and its twin city of Giza during a heavy storm, March 12. AFP
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A Yemeni boy returns home after filling his jerrycan with water amid a severe shortage of water in southern Yemen's capital Aden, on April 30.
Saleh Al-Obeidi / AFP
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Boys enjoy the water on May 5 as Lebanon extended a shutdown to curb the spread of Covid-19, Beirut's seaside Corniche, Lebanon. Lebanon is a relatively water-rich country in a water-scarce region. However, the country suffers from a problem common in the developing world: one of poor and ineffective integrated water resource management. Even some of Beirut’s wealthiest neighbourhoods lack access to a regular supply of water and are forced to rely on tankers. Aziz Taher / Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/462IQ2EAARRYSRFHFFW3O7P3UE.jpg?smart=true&auth=6e0fc779dd37a49b086ef681ce85dc5239531aa0e6a534752c4ec545a1659869&width=400&height=225)
Lebanese Musician Ziad al-Zayyat (L) and his flatmate, interior designer Saad Molaeb, play their guitars on the rooftop of their building, during a lockdown imposed by the authorities in the town of Hadath, north of the capital Beirut on May 4. Usually the kingdom of water tanks and satellite dishes, Lebanon's roofs have recently been graced by unlikely scenes of confined residents fleeing their flats for space and fresh air. Joseph Eid/ AFP
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A US military vehicle patrols the oil fields in the town of Qahtaniyah in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province near the Turkish border, on May 8. Delil Souleiman / AFP
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A displaced Syrian girl sits next to a grinder, to grind meats or vegetables, at the Washukanni camp for the internally displaced in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on May 10, during the month of Ramadan. In Syria, UNICEF is transporting clean water into some of the most devastated cities and camps. Delil Souleiman / AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/SL622HOL7UVDN5BVKY7UGPHTOE.jpg?smart=true&auth=dfb77c3f6ce0a9833cdf7908f003efa5fdfdad5b14e08363a169e0343a779c02&width=400&height=225)
A displaced Syrian woman next to her cart, selling chicken, at the Washukanni camp for the internally displaced in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on May 10, during Ramadan. Delil Souleiman / AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/KZHD7BGWHPZICRLAR4N7CAOYQY.jpg?smart=true&auth=6928773c01bdc24a51368ac4d418e46d365397928cc8b84442bfd5f2393bc9b9&width=400&height=225)
Downtown Amman, Jordan, 10 May. Jordan receives less than 50 millimetres of rainfall per year and is heavily dependent on domestic aquifers for its water supply. Andre Pain / EPA
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/7A33RODGRMTVXDSS7OU4RVR3TA.jpg?smart=true&auth=2cad46454559b43b17b2ca74ab80bcf513aa4fd70a3e8b0a145acbde0c2f8888&width=400&height=225)
A man helps a girl to fill jerry cans with water from a cistern at a make-shift camp for displaced Yemenis, in the northern Hajjah province on April 29, 2020, amid a severe shortage of water. Essa Ahmed/ AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/OLLN4KUV3ZY3FBLEA5SH75UQKA.jpg?smart=true&auth=ead9abb5d12786c86e52966ffbb5d90c21c6ad0350cf3645aa585a3cda39cf96&width=400&height=225)
Boys eat their Iftar meal provided by a group of volunteers in a damaged neighbourhood, amid fear for the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Atarib, Aleppo countryside Syria May 7. In Syria, UNICEF is transporting clean water via lorries into some of the most devastated cities and IDP camps, but this is only a temporary solution and further highlights the need for better water management to combat future viral outbreaks. Khalil Ashawi / Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/KHG2R553XBYRPPGFKYVZQ3VRUM.jpg?smart=true&auth=c68e419bff5ff7954b407438772bf9777a03b0038b98596e065db859fc9d3076&width=400&height=225)
A flooded street in the New Cairo suburb of the Egyptian capital amid a heavy storm, March 12. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/G43UC6UJHTPWX6NKCTSZK2LOTQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=114bf69e89e55c1ab380aa6d4a5162bb4e069992c860a1df17f896315f032709&width=400&height=225)
Rain in Dubai in January flooded the street connecting Sheikh Zayed Road to Madinat Jumeirah. Antonie Robertson / The National
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/EV3WGN2XIGFZNBMRAUYGABFN5A.jpg?smart=true&auth=3bd152a64c8392d37887d637527d80412dcc0d137eb387e142565a03a63e2b8b&width=400&height=225)
The UAE was struck by rain, hail and strong winds, November 2019, Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/EZHOOMUSPISFUQW5GHM6ZLHHEU.jpg?smart=true&auth=c923ae9730667d6820f1d8842a1487173c65c0b83dc180a9877d5a05f02df53f&width=400&height=225)
Children riding a donkey return home with jerrycans filled with water from a cistern, at a make-shift camp for displaced Yemenis in the northern Hajjah province on April 29, amid a severe shortage of water. Yemen has suffered years of war that have driven millions from their homes and plunged the country into the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Essa Ahmed/ AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/DA32RC3ZY6IZJ2PZXIQJP4DW64.jpg?smart=true&auth=06960b65079c9309aadf84769ab563e1f4b5657fe82b85c59508a180ed4b814c&width=400&height=225)
A flooded portion of the ring road that encircles the Egyptian capital Cairo and its twin city of Giza during a heavy storm, March 12. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/AHRMI6APPEOIVXAKJ5AEWI4YDA.jpg?smart=true&auth=01a7a532711cf446d5106e0baa4c592350b783ee1e1e46d92b5e15480d1d4be8&width=400&height=225)
A Yemeni boy returns home after filling his jerrycan with water amid a severe shortage of water in southern Yemen's capital Aden, on April 30.
Saleh Al-Obeidi / AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/CMDMDWWQGNDQKB3XSSUIE2MF4M.jpg?smart=true&auth=3d64a00d13687d7f4e08fc9b558e81edc8732f337418c51dd024a81d97ae106f&width=400&height=225)
Boys enjoy the water on May 5 as Lebanon extended a shutdown to curb the spread of Covid-19, Beirut's seaside Corniche, Lebanon. Lebanon is a relatively water-rich country in a water-scarce region. However, the country suffers from a problem common in the developing world: one of poor and ineffective integrated water resource management. Even some of Beirut’s wealthiest neighbourhoods lack access to a regular supply of water and are forced to rely on tankers. Aziz Taher / Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/462IQ2EAARRYSRFHFFW3O7P3UE.jpg?smart=true&auth=6e0fc779dd37a49b086ef681ce85dc5239531aa0e6a534752c4ec545a1659869&width=400&height=225)
Lebanese Musician Ziad al-Zayyat (L) and his flatmate, interior designer Saad Molaeb, play their guitars on the rooftop of their building, during a lockdown imposed by the authorities in the town of Hadath, north of the capital Beirut on May 4. Usually the kingdom of water tanks and satellite dishes, Lebanon's roofs have recently been graced by unlikely scenes of confined residents fleeing their flats for space and fresh air. Joseph Eid/ AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/WEXHHBIEX45STZKKLX2LJWFU3Q.jpg?smart=true&auth=7b4f1c8890bf91b54bec2c84d3570e8d3898c7480f82bb829c8dad9ceff738dd&width=400&height=225)
A US military vehicle patrols the oil fields in the town of Qahtaniyah in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province near the Turkish border, on May 8. Delil Souleiman / AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/2UWOPKVK4W6SSC4GXJJFYJ6CN4.jpg?smart=true&auth=14951af3bb1079e775bf0fa2c80b07ad933faf8ef09ea795a7ffef7c0fa24420&width=400&height=225)
A displaced Syrian girl sits next to a grinder, to grind meats or vegetables, at the Washukanni camp for the internally displaced in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on May 10, during the month of Ramadan. In Syria, UNICEF is transporting clean water into some of the most devastated cities and camps. Delil Souleiman / AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/SL622HOL7UVDN5BVKY7UGPHTOE.jpg?smart=true&auth=dfb77c3f6ce0a9833cdf7908f003efa5fdfdad5b14e08363a169e0343a779c02&width=400&height=225)
A displaced Syrian woman next to her cart, selling chicken, at the Washukanni camp for the internally displaced in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on May 10, during Ramadan. Delil Souleiman / AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/KZHD7BGWHPZICRLAR4N7CAOYQY.jpg?smart=true&auth=6928773c01bdc24a51368ac4d418e46d365397928cc8b84442bfd5f2393bc9b9&width=400&height=225)
Downtown Amman, Jordan, 10 May. Jordan receives less than 50 millimetres of rainfall per year and is heavily dependent on domestic aquifers for its water supply. Andre Pain / EPA
Closing the tap when washing hands for those 20 seconds can save billions of litres of water
In the Arab world in particular, the growing water crisis in an already volatile region requires immediate attention
Ambika Vishwanath and Karma Ekmekji
14 May, 2020
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