Jordan’s climate is changing, and the effects are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Heat waves are becoming more frequent and lasting longer, temperatures continue to break records, and rainfall has become less predictable, placing additional pressure on the country’s already limited water resources and agricultural sector.
اضافة اعلان
Recent years have shown how quickly these conditions are intensifying. In July 2023, two heat waves pushed temperatures in Ghor Al-Safi to 46.2°C and 47.7°C. The following month, Jordan experienced a 13-day heat wave, the longest recorded in the country’s climate history.
The pattern continued in 2024.Two consecutive heat waves in June lasted seven and nine days, with temperatures at Amman Civil Airport reaching 40.8°C. Another heat wave followed in August, when daily highs at the airport remained at or above 40°C for more than a week.
For Jordan, rising temperatures have consequences that extend far beyond uncomfortable summers. Higher temperatures increase evaporation and the amount of water crops need, while irregular rainfall and prolonged drought place further pressure on farmers and the country’s food and water security.
A Century of Rising Temperatures
Long-term climate data shows that Jordan has already experienced significant warming. A recent report by the Jordan Meteorological Department found that the country’s average annual temperature has risen by approximately 1.6°C over the past century, based on records from the Amman Civil Airport weather station between 1923 and 2025.
The findings are consistent with projections in Jordan’s Fourth National Communication on climate change. Under a high-emissions scenario, maximum temperatures could rise by as much as 3.1°C by the end of the century, while rainfall could decline by up to 47%. Evapotranspiration, the loss of water from soil and plants into the atmosphere, is projected to increase by around 11%.
Experts say these projections make climate adaptation an immediate priority rather than a future concern. Jordan has already developed several national plans to address climate change, but specialists in climate, water and agriculture argue that implementation has not kept pace with the scale of the problem.
Adaptation can help Jordan manage the consequences of a changing climate, but it cannot address the causes on its own. Reducing emissions, expanding clean energy, improving resource efficiency and protecting ecosystems remain necessary alongside adaptation efforts.
Growing Pressure on Jordan’s Water Supply
Dr. Duraid Mahasneh, chairman of the board of the Edama Association for Energy, Water and Environment, said climate change is placing increasing pressure on Jordan’s water sector and its ability to meet basic demand. Jordan is already among the world’s most water-scarce countries, making the conservation of existing resources and the development of new water sources increasingly important.
Agriculture is particularly vulnerable.The sector already accounts for more than 60% of Jordan’s water consumption, and rising temperatures are expected to increase agricultural demand further.
Mahasneh said the effects are also beginning to reach other parts of the economy, including tourism, although he believes the wider economic consequences of climate change have yet to receive sufficient attention from policymakers.
He pointed to the impact of extreme temperatures and water shortages elsewhere in the world as a warning of the economic disruption climate change can cause if governments fail to prepare.
Mahasneh said the Ministry of Environment has begun to take adaptation more seriously, but argued that current efforts remain insufficient. He also called for Jordan to take a stronger regional role on climate action, particularly as international climate efforts face growing political pressure and global climate summits struggle to maintain their previous influence.
Climate policy, he added, cannot remain the responsibility of a single ministry. Mahasneh called for greater involvement across government and pointed to gaps in climate-related legislation, including the limited integration of climate education into school and university curricula.
A National Warning
Omar Shoushan, head of the Union of Environmental Societies, said Jordan’s changing climate can no longer be treated as a distant threat. The increase in average temperatures over the past century, he said, should be viewed as a national warning because its consequences extend across water, agriculture, health, food security, biodiversity, cities, infrastructure and the wider economy.
Shoushan said the problem is not that Jordan lacks climate policies.The country already has a national climate change policy covering 2022 to 2050, a national adaptation plan, Nationally Determined Contributions, national communications and several sector-specific strategies.
The Ministry of Environment is also developing Jordan’s third Nationally Determined Contribution, which is expected to bring adaptation, mitigation and climate resilience measures together while improving the way climate finance is monitored.
The larger issue, Shoushan argued, is coordination.Climate responsibilities remain spread across different ministries, institutions and individual projects rather than operating as part of one national system connecting planning, financing, implementation and accountability.
Funding remains one of the most significant gaps. Ministries cannot be expected to implement major adaptation or low-carbon projects without clear budgets, identified sources of finance and measurable targets.
Financing Climate Adaptation
Shoushan said Jordan has the potential to attract significantly more climate finance if it develops large, strategic and financially viable national projects rather than relying on disconnected initiatives.
He called for a national financing framework that brings together government spending, private investment, banks and international climate funds, directing resources towards clearly defined national priorities.The International Monetary Fund has previously called on Jordan to strengthen its climate investment environment and move towards risk-based financing, particularly given the country’s limited fiscal space.
Shoushan also pointed to a recently launched Green Climate Fund-backed project supporting Jordan’s preparations for its next generation of climate commitments. He said initiatives of this kind show that stronger institutions, improved financial tracking and capacity building will be central to the next stage of the country’s climate response.
Rather than producing another strategy, he argued that Jordan should bring its existing plans together under a single implementation programme with a defined budget, measurable targets and clear responsibility for delivery.
Climate considerations should also become part of decision-making across water, energy, agriculture, transport, industry and urban planning. Jordan has the scientific expertise and institutional capacity to become a regional leader in climate action, Shoushan said, but that will depend on turning strategies into investment and measurable results.
He described the Meteorological Department’s latest findings as an opportunity to change how climate change is treated in Jordan. Rather than viewing it solely as an environmental issue, he said it should be considered a national priority with economic, development and security implications.
Jordan’s climate has already changed. The question now is whether the country’s policies, financing and implementation can respond quickly enough.
Farmers Face Growing Risks
For Jordan’s agricultural sector, the effects are already being felt.
Engineer Mahmoud Al-Awran, director general of the Farmers Union, said the Meteorological Department’s findings were not surprising to those working in agriculture.
He argued that Jordan has yet to take sufficient practical measures to address rising temperatures and pointed to continued urban and infrastructure development at the expense of green space as part of the problem.
Al-Awran also called for greater scientific research into which crops are best suited to Jordan’s changing climate. Without that research, he warned, the agricultural sector could continue using increasingly scarce water resources on crops that may become less viable as temperatures rise.
Higher temperatures will inevitably increase water demand, even if the most extreme conditions occur only during parts of the year. Al-Awran encouraged farmers to irrigate during cooler periods, particularly early in the morning or late in the evening, to reduce water loss.
He also warned that heat-related crop damage could affect food security and contribute to sharp increases in the prices of some agricultural products.
Existing adaptation plans, he argued, have not placed enough emphasis on developing crop varieties capable of coping with a hotter and drier climate.
He called for emergency measures to address Jordan’s water challenges, including expanding water-harvesting systems across the agricultural sector.
The figures show that climate change in Jordan is no longer a distant scenario.
Temperatures have already risen, heat waves are becoming more severe and pressure on water and agriculture is increasing.Jordan has no shortage of climate strategies. The challenge is turning those plans into coordinated action that can keep pace with a climate that is already changing.
