The Tigris and Euphrates rivers have faced a significant drop in water levels in southern Iraq, Baghdad authorities said on Sunday, vowing to take measures to remedy the situation in the drought-stricken country, AFP and Agerpres reported.

In Nassiriya, the capital of Di Qar province in the far south of Iraq, the level of the Euphrates River is so low that in some places you can see its bottom, near the banks and piers of bridges across the water.

The Tigris and Euphrates originate in Turkey, and Iraqi authorities regularly accuse Ankara and Tehran of significantly reducing the rivers’ flow to Iraq by building dams upstream.

Citing “decreasing water levels in some southern provinces,” Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources on Sunday blamed the crisis on “a small amount of water coming from neighboring Turkey,” according to a statement. “This led to a sudden decrease in the country’s water reserves,” he added.

This phenomenon is exacerbated by improper irrigation practices in Iraq with excessive use of water from rivers, the ministry accuses farmers of “failing to respect the areas” set by the authorities for crops this winter.

The country’s main water supply is held back by dams in northern Iraq, regularly angering southern provinces that feel under attack.

The decrease in water levels in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the south is “temporary,” Water Resources Ministry spokesman Khaled Chamal said.

According to the UN, due to a decrease in rainfall and consecutive years of drought, Iraq is one of the five countries in the world that are most exposed to certain consequences of climate change.