Jordanians are being warned by the government to expect a “critical summer” for water due to a poor rainy season that reached little more than half the average annual precipitation, according to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. Spokesperson Omar Salameh told the Jordan Times on April 19 that the water deficit may become dramatic this summer.

This year’s rainy season decreased the per capita share of potable water, he said.

Jordanians are used to water shortages during the summer but Salameh told the local press that the ministry may be forced to ration its supplies to about five cubic meters per household per week. Jordan's dam have a total capacity of about 336 million cubic meters but the latest rainy season delivered only 140 million cubic meters in their reservoirs. The 2019-2020 rainy season brought in 220 million cubic meters.

According to the World Resources Institute, Jordan ranks fifth in the world's water-stressed countries. The average share per individual, at 100 cubic meters annually, is less than 1% of the global average of 1300 cubic meters. Jordan gets about 60% of its fresh water supply from aquifers that are replenished by rainfall. The rest of its needs it gets from surface water from the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan and Yarmouk river basins, which are controlled by Israel.