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Morocco’s seven-year drought has ended after heavy rainfall this winter increased water reserves across the country, Water Minister Nizar Baraka said on Monday.
Rainfall levels so far this winter are 95% higher than the same period last year and 17% above the seasonal average, Baraka told parliament.
As a result, the average dam-filling rate has risen to 46%, according to official data, with several major reservoirs now at full capacity. The rains have brought relief to Morocco’s struggling agricultural sector after years of water shortages and restrictions.
Prolonged drought had reduced wheat production, shrunk the national cattle herd, caused massive job losses in farming and forced authorities to impose limits on water use.
The drought also pushed Morocco to speed up investment in desalination projects as traditional water sources dwindled.
Baraka told Reuters in December that Morocco aims to supply 60% of its drinking water from treated seawater by 2030, up from a previous target of 25%, while preserving dam water for inland regions.
