WATER HARVESTING TO ADDRESS THE CLIMATE CHANGE IN JORDAN USING REMOTE SENSING AND CLIMATE DATA

Abstract

Climate change, especially in the eastern Mediterranean basin, has received intense attention because it inevitably affects natural resources. A decrease in rainfall has already been observed in Jordan and neighboring countries. Jordan has a Mediterranean climate, characterized by hot summers and mild, humid winters. The decrease and fluctuation of rainfall from year to year has led to pressure on water resources and a decrease in the availability of water for drinking and various uses, even in the northern region, which has more rainfall than others. Therefore, this study analyzes the trend of rainfall in northern Jordan, specifically the city of Irbid the second largest city in the country with 650000 inhabitent. Statistical methods such as regression, moving averages, and cumulative differences were used to examin the trend of rainfall in the city. Meanwhile satellite images were used to calculate the rooftop area of buildings in the city and then estimate the amount of possible harvested rainwater that can be collected through water harvesting techniques for daily use. The study found that the long-term average annual rainfall in Irbid reaches 466 mm with concentration in winter in (December, January, February), at a rate of 65% of the annual precipitation, while 23% falls in the spring in ( March, April, May), in addition to the fact that the rainfall rate reaches 12% in (September, October, November). The results showed that the total area of buildings’ rooftops in Irbid is about 6.93 square kilometers, and the total amount of estimated harvested water is about 26 million cubic metres. . This amount of water, if invested, will improve the per capita share of water in the city of Irbid to become 39.7 cubic metres comparing to the current amount of 60 cubic metres.