BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Climate change has led to a decrease of Azerbaijan's current total water resources by five billion cubic meters (bcm) to about 25 bcm against nearly 20 bcm of water formed in transboundary rivers and 10 bcm in local rivers at the end of the last century, representative of the State Service for Control over Water Use and Protection under Azerbaijan State Water Resources Agency (ADSEA) Rafig Verdiyev said during the service's press conference today, Trend reports.
According to him, given that an annual extraction of approximately five billion cubic meters of water is conducted by adjacent nations, it is evident that Azerbaijan's existing hydrological reserves hover around 20 bcm, with 12 bcm, representing 60 percent, sourced from these neighboring entities.
"In the future, the increase in the amount of water taken by neighboring countries from transboundary river basins and the worsening of pollution levels through various wastewater sources signal that the role of our local rivers in water supply will become even more significant," he added.
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