‘Major dams now half full’

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s 10 major dams now hold 50 per cent of their total capacity of 325 million cubic metres (mcm), a government official said on Monday.

“As of Monday morning, the dams held 163mcm or half of their total capacity,” Jordan Valley Authority Secretary General Saad Abu Hammour told The Jordan Times.

Melting snow helped increase water storage at the dams, Abu Hammour said.

A total of 17mcm of water entered the country’s 10 major dams during the recent blizzard, while melting snow added another 3mcm, thus boosting storage levels.

Earlier this month, the Kingdom was affected by a polar front and depression, which brought heavy rain and snow to different parts of the country.

Precipitation during the depression provided 19.6 per cent of the country’s long-term annual average of 8.1 billion cubic metres of rainfall, according to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.

Official figures indicate that since the start of the wet season in October last year, the country has received 4.9 billion cubic metres of rain, which constitutes 60.1 per cent of the long-term annual average.

In January 2014, the dams held 132mcm or 40 per cent of their total capacity, while in the same month of 2013, they held 51.6mcm, or 16 per cent of their total capacity, according to official figures.

Meanwhile, the country will be affected by an upper trough this week which will bring plenty of sunshine and raise temperatures well above their annual average of 8°C during this time of year, the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) website indicated on Monday.

The weather between Tuesday and Thursday will be relatively cold, with southeasterly moderate winds.

Maximum temperatures in Amman on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will reach 16°C, 18°C and 19°C respectively, while the minimum will drop to between 5°C and 6°C on these days, according to the JMD website.