The Impact of War on Syrian Water is So Vast, You Can See it from Space

Jan 9, 2017 | Kieran Cooke
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A new study by researchers at California’s Stanford University has found that the ongoing war has caused a dramatic change in river flows and water availability both in Syria and over the border in Jordan.

The study, focused on the Yarmouk river basin which encompasses areas in both the south of Syria and the north of Jordan, says that changes in water management practices in Syria over recent years are so vast that they can be seen from space.

Researchers, unable to gather data on the ground due to the war, used satellite imagery processed in Google Earth Engine to analyse and measure water usage, storage and river flow rates in the region.