April 2023

On the Outskirts of the Dead Sea

Hamat Dam

Video and translation by: Nizar Alayasa

The Dead Sea is fed mainly by the Jordan River, which enters the lake from the north. Several smaller streams also enter the sea, chiefly from the east. The lake has no outlet, and the heavy inflow of fresh water is carried off solely by evaporation, which is rapid in the hot desert climate. Climate change has an indirect impact on the shrinking area of the Dead Sea. As the climate warms, the desert region around the Dead Sea gets hotter and rainfall becomes more rare. The increasingly scarce water resources continue to be in high demand for drinking and irrigation, leaving little left for replenishing the Dead Sea.

Translation of the video narrative:

Good evening my friends.
Today, 15th Ramadan, we came to the Dead Sea viewing platform to break our fast and for night hiking. We shall return to the Arab Alrashaydah later tonight. Here I am standing at the west bank edge of the Dead Sea where we can see its eastern bank. The Dead Sea is the only sea in the world that does not have any sort of life. The Dead Sea now is more like a lake than a sea after it has shrunk its current narrow and small size. We are about to have our meal and right after that we will our night hiking from the Dead Sea viewing platform to Arab Alrashaydah.