An Iraqi fish farmer holds dead fish from a tank at his farm in the town of Zubaydiya, near the city of Kut in southern Iraq on April 14, 2026. Earlier this month, after yet another dry season, a brief spell of rain led Iraqi authorities to open the gates of the key Hamrin Dam, sending water into the Diyala River -- a tributary of the Tigris south of Baghdad -- that is choked with untreated sewage. Following the recent fish die-off, authorities vowed they will take the necessary measure to treat wastewater before discharge. But decades of conflicts have left the country's infrastructure in a pitiful state and its water management systems in disrepair. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images)