The Orontes River no longer adorns the city of Hama nor serves as its lifeline or for the other regions it crosses in Syria. Its waters have receded to the extent that its dry bed, with cracks and stones, has appeared. Algae and weeds have grown on its banks, and the familiar sound of the waterwheels has vanished after their rotation stopped and their colors faded months ago.

Farmer Samer Al-Awad stands sadly in his orchard beside the Orontes River on the outskirts of the city, carrying a pile of dry branches on his tractor. His once lush and fruitful field has dried up. He tells Al Jazeera, “All the orchards have dried up due to the lack of water. The land used to be green, and we cannot cultivate rainfed trees; we depend on seasonal vegetables and fruits, but they have withered.”

He adds, “Trees need irrigation once a week, or at least once a month, but where is the water?”

Another farmer, Abdul Razzaq, who relies on the Orontes water, looks at his withered trees and dried fruits and says, “The season is very bad; the fruits have been scorched due to water scarcity, and the situation is very tragic.”

Due to water scarcity and tree damage, Abdul Razzaq prunes the dry branches and sometimes uses water tanks “to slightly moisten the trees according to our limited financial capabilities,” he says.

After repeated demands from farmers and the loss of their crops due to drought, the Hama Governorate responded by opening the Rastan Dam on the river’s course in Homs with limited quantities to irrigate lands and trees, allowing the river to flow for two days at a low rate.

The Orontes River, which divides Hama into two main areas, suffers from the consequences of climate change and ongoing drought affecting its source, course, and mouth. Farmers face water scarcity and helplessness after this vital water artery dried up.

In recent years, climate changes, including drought and excessive heat, have affected the Levant, especially Syria and Lebanon. Studies indicate a decline in rainfall in Lebanon from 520 mm in 2024 to 262 mm in 2025.

Other reports noted that the 2025 winter season had the lowest rainfall rates in Syria since about 1956, leading to unprecedented drought affecting dam reservoirs, river flows—including the Orontes—and various crops.

The drought at the source in Mount Lebanon and other tributaries directly affected the water volume in the Orontes River, causing several areas to dry up. The water reserve in the Rastan Dam in northern Homs countryside, which collects the Orontes water before entering Hama city, has recently seen a significant decrease.

The Director of Water Resources in Hama, Engineer Riyad Al-Obaid, told Al Jazeera that the river’s water level is very low compared to previous years, less than a third of last year’s stored amount.

Al-Obaid points out that the drought crisis in Syria and the region results from global climate change causing reduced snow and rainfall on the Lebanese mountains feeding the Orontes springs.

According to him, the rainfall rate is at least 30% below the annual average, an unprecedented phenomenon in the country’s history over decades.

He confirms that the Rastan Dam stores 15% of its capacity, enough to keep the dam core moist within safety limits, and it is not suffering from total drought.

He believes that closing the dam causes the Orontes River to dry up, leading to reduced irrigated areas, damaged agricultural seasons, and affected livestock production and numbers, expecting drought to continue next year based on current data and phenomena.

Amid water scarcity, the General Drinking Water Corporation in Hama has directed rationalizing drinking water consumption and prohibiting its use for other purposes after operating 450 water projects in the governorate, according to the corporation’s director, Engineer Abdul Sattar Al-Ali.

This comes with declining groundwater well levels and reduced flow of many surface wells and springs.

Al-Ali told Al Jazeera, “The general situation of drinking water in Hama is between acceptable and good. The corporation works to utilize all available resources for as many hours as possible, balancing continuous water supply to citizens and preventing over-extraction.”

He notes that the hours of rationing and water delivery to citizens depend on water production quantities and demand, hoping not to increase rationing levels with recent increases in electricity supply hours (two hours on, four hours off).

Al-Ali confirms that operating supporting wells is an approved solution by the corporation, maintaining well water quality within the permissible drinking standards above the Syrian standard No. 45 of 2007.

Meanwhile, Abdul Qader, a sixty-year-old man from Hama, recalls the 1960s when the city and its surroundings experienced extended drought leading to drinking water and irrigation shortages, crop destruction, and significant livestock decline.

He describes the current state of the city as “sad without its river, having lost its glory with the drying of the Orontes River, which was its most famous landmark along with its waterwheels whose wood also dried and stopped turning months ago.”

He points out that the river’s depletion led to the spread of other pests such as insects, rats, and epidemics in surrounding areas like Bustan Al-Saada and Abi Al-Fida Street.

On the other hand, he believes that the drinking water reserves of the governorate should be prioritized over the city’s aesthetic appearance and sometimes even over crops during difficult times to avoid complete drying of water sources.