Dams now 61.5% full after latest rain — ministry

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s 10 major dams now hold 61.5 per cent of their total capacity of 325 million cubic metres (mcm), Water Minister Hazem Nasser said on Monday.

As of Monday morning, the dams held 200.2mcm of water, Nasser said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

Current water storage at the dams is below storage levels recorded during this time last year, when they held 213.5mcm or 65.6 per cent of their total capacity, according to the ministry.

"Rainfall over the past two days raised the amount of rain since the start of the wet season to over 9.2 billion cubic metres, constituting 112.4 per cent of the long term annual average of rain of 8.1 billion cubic metres," Nasser said.

The recent rain will recharge aquifers and boost natural pastures, he added, noting that the eastern and southern regions received the highest rainfall amounts.

"Over the past 48 hours, the country received 1.29 billion cubic metres of rain, the majority of which fell in Maan, which received 768.4mcm of rain, followed by Aqaba, which received 130.4mcm of rain…," Nasser said.

Dams are located across the Kingdom, and there are more than 143 large ponds to collect floodwater in the desert and over 25 sand dams, according to the Water Ministry.

A relatively cold air mass started affecting the Kingdom on Saturday, bringing temperatures six degrees below their annual average for this time of the year of 18ºC as well as heavy rain, according to the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD).

A slight rise in temperatures is forecast for Tuesday, but the weather will remain relatively cold, and partly cloudy with chances of rain in the northern and central regions.

Temperatures will range between a high of 14ºC and a low of 5ºC at night in Amman.

The impact of the relatively cold air mass will taper off on Wednesday, when sunny spring weather will prevail, according to the JMD, which expected daytime temperatures to be 17ºC, dropping to 6ºC at night in the capital.

A further rise in temperatures is forecast for Thursday, when the weather will be fair and sunny, and temperatures will reach a maximum of 19ºC, dropping to a minimum of 9ºC in Amman, the department said.