A herd of buffalo wade in the Euphrates River in al-Muthanna Province, Iraq, October 11, 2022. "Climate change is a reality in Iraq," said the United Nations mission in Iraq, adding that the country was the world's fifth most vulnerable to the fallout from global warming due to rising temperatures, lower rainfall, salinity, and dust storms. "Desertification now threatens almost 40 percent of the area of our country - a country that was once one of the most fertile and productive in the region," Iraq's President Abdul Latif Rashid told the climate summit in Egypt last week. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani SEARCH "CLIMATE MIDEAST WATER" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

A yellow-billed oxpecker cleans a buffalo at the Nairobi National Park, in Nairobi, Kenya, September 15, 2022. REUTERS/Baz Ratner 

Buffaloes pass in front of a gas station amid flood water on the Indus highway, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Sehwan, Pakistan September 13, 2022. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro 

A man rides a buffalo cart while transporting green fodder amid flood water, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Nowshera, Pakistan September 6, 2022. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz 

A man transporting green fodder on a buffalo cart walks down a road along stranded flood water, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Nowshera, Pakistan September 4, 2022. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz 

A man walks with a herd of buffaloes and cows near flood waters, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Nowshera, Pakistan September 3, 2022. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz 

A boy guides his pet buffalo with damaged houses in the background, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Mehar, Pakistan August 29, 2022. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro 

A Jockey competes in Chonburi's annual buffalo race festival, in Chonburi province, Thailand, July 24, 2022. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha 

Jockeys and water buffalos prepare before the start of Chonburi's annual buffalo race festival, in Chonburi province, Thailand, July 24, 2022. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha 

Jockeys and water buffalos prepare before the start of Chonburi's annual buffalo race festival, in Chonburi province, Thailand, July 24, 2022. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha 

A Jockey competes in Chonburi's annual buffalo race festival, in Chonburi province, Thailand, July 24, 2022. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha 

Jockeys compete in Chonburi's annual buffalo race festival, in Chonburi province, Thailand, July 24, 2022. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha 

Jockeys compete in Chonburi's annual buffalo race festival, in Chonburi province, Thailand, July 24, 2022. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha 

A Jockey competes in Chonburi's annual buffalo race festival, in Chonburi province, Thailand, July 24, 2022. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha 

A Jockey competes in Chonburi's annual buffalo race festival, in Chonburi province, Thailand, July 24, 2022. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha 

A water buffalo is seen before the start of Chonburi's annual buffalo race festival, in Chonburi province, Thailand, July 24, 2022. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha 

Iraqi children swim with water buffaloes in Euphrates river in Najaf, Iraq, June 20, 2022. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani 

Iraqi children swim with water buffaloes in Euphrates river in Najaf, Iraq, June 20, 2022. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani 

An Iraqi Marsh Arab boy walks through the water next to buffaloes at the Chebayesh marsh in Dhi Qar province, Iraq, June 3, 2022. Picture taken June 3, 2022. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani 

Buffaloes wade through low water levels at the Chebayesh marsh in Dhi Qar province, Iraq June 3, 2022. Picture taken June 3, 2022. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani 

A girl herds buffaloes on a dry ground that was covered with water, at the Chebayesh Marshes in Dhi Qar, Iraq, June 3, 2022. Picture taken with a drone June 3, 2022. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani 

Joel Pedrosa de Andrade, a local farmer, watches over his buffaloes amidst flood waters, after several riverside villages were affected by flooding triggered by the rise of the rivers levels in Careiro da Varzea in the Amazonas state, Brazil May 20, 2022. Picture taken May 20, 2022. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly REFILE - QUALITY REPEAT 

Joel Pedrosa de Andrade, a local farmer, watches over his buffaloes amidst flood waters, after several riverside villages were affected by flooding triggered by the rise of the rivers levels in Careiro da Varzea in the Amazonas state, Brazil May 20, 2022. Picture taken May 20, 2022. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly REFILE - QUALITY REPEAT 

One boy bathes while another draws water from a hand pump, near a buffalo sitting in the mud to cool off, during a heatwave, in Jacobabad, Pakistan, May 14, 2022. Jacobabad's roughly 200,000 residents are well aware of their reputation as one of the world's hottest cities. "If we go to hell, we'll take a blanket," is a common joke told in the area. Few places are more punishing. Last month, temperatures hit 51 Celsius (124 Fahrenheit) on May 14, which local meteorological officials was highly unusual for that time of year. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro SEARCH "SOOMRO PAKISTAN JACOBABAD" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

The museum ship USS The Sullivans, a former U.S. Navy World War II era destroyer, is partially submerged due to water seeping into its thin hull at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in Buffalo, New York, U.S. April 16, 2022. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario 

The museum ship USS The Sullivans, a former U.S. Navy World War II era destroyer, is partially submerged due to water seeping into its thin hull at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in Buffalo, New York, U.S. April 16, 2022. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario 

The museum ship USS The Sullivans, a former U.S. Navy World War II era destroyer, is partially submerged due to water seeping into its thin hull at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in Buffalo, New York, U.S. April 16, 2022. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario 

People look at the museum ship USS The Sullivans, a former U.S. Navy World War II era destroyer, that is partially submerged due to water seeping into its thin hull at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in Buffalo, New York, U.S. April 16, 2022. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario 

The museum ship USS The Sullivans, a former U.S. Navy World War II era destroyer, is partially submerged due to water seeping into its thin hull at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in Buffalo, New York, U.S. April 16, 2022. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario 

The museum ship USS The Sullivans, a former U.S. Navy World War II era destroyer, is partially submerged due to water seeping into its thin hull at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in Buffalo, New York, U.S. April 16, 2022. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario 

The museum ship USS The Sullivans, a former U.S. Navy World War II era destroyer, is partially submerged due to water seeping into its thin hull at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in Buffalo, New York, U.S. April 16, 2022. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario 

The museum ship USS The Sullivans, a former U.S. Navy World War II era destroyer, is partially submerged due to water seeping into its thin hull at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in Buffalo, New York, U.S. April 16, 2022. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario 

The museum ship USS The Sullivans, a former U.S. Navy World War II era destroyer, is partially submerged due to water seeping into its thin hull at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in Buffalo, New York, U.S. April 16, 2022. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario 

A buffalo cools off in Sabie river overlooked by a hotel in a near 100-year-old train, that sits on the Selati suspension bridge, which spans a river in the heart of the iconic Kruger National Park, in Skukuza, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, February 9, 2022. Picture taken February 9, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko 

Volunteer Juliana Fraga gives water to a malnourished buffalo in treatment at a farm where Environmental Police found hundreds of mistreated buffaloes in Brotas, Sao Paulo state, Brazil December 1, 2021. Picture taken December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli 

People splash water on a buffalo to prepare it for sacrifice during "Dashain", Hinduism's biggest religious festival in Bhaktapur, Nepal, October 14, 2021. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar 

Sabah Thamer al-Baher milks a buffalo in the Chebayesh marsh, Dhi Qar province, Iraq, August 25, 2021. Iraq's 2020-2021 rainfall season was the second driest in 40 years, according to the United Nations, causing the salinity of the wetlands to rise to dangerous levels. Animals fell sick and died, and Baher was forced to buy fresh drinking water for his own herd of around 20 buffaloes, his only source of income. Another drought is predicted for 2023 as climate change, pollution and upstream damming keep Iraq trapped in a cycle of recurring water crises. "The marshes are our life. If droughts persist, we will stop to exist, because our whole life depends on water and raising water buffaloes," said Baher. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani SEARCH "MARSHES AL-SUDANI" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Sabah Thamer al-Baher feeds his two-year-old daughter Fatema buffalo milk at their home in the Chebayesh marsh, Dhi Qar province, Iraq, August 25, 2021. Iraq's 2020-2021 rainfall season was the second driest in 40 years, according to the United Nations, causing the salinity of the wetlands to rise to dangerous levels. Animals fell sick and died, and Baher was forced to buy fresh drinking water for his own herd of around 20 buffaloes, his only source of income. Another drought is predicted for 2023 as climate change, pollution and upstream damming keep Iraq trapped in a cycle of recurring water crises. "The marshes are our life. If droughts persist, we will stop to exist, because our whole life depends on water and raising water buffaloes," said Baher. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani SEARCH "MARSHES AL-SUDANI" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Sabah Thamer al-Baher prepares animal medicine to give to a buffalo at the Chebayesh marsh in Dhi Qar province, Iraq, August 24, 2021. Iraq's 2020-2021 rainfall season was the second driest in 40 years, according to the United Nations, causing the salinity of the wetlands to rise to dangerous levels. Animals fell sick and died, and Baher was forced to buy fresh drinking water for his own herd of around 20 buffaloes, his only source of income. Another drought is predicted for 2023 as climate change, pollution and upstream damming keep Iraq trapped in a cycle of recurring water crises. "The marshes are our life. If droughts persist, we will stop to exist, because our whole life depends on water and raising water buffaloes," said Baher. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani SEARCH "MARSHES AL-SUDANI" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Sabah Thamer al-Baher and his relatives capture a buffalo to give it medicine at the Chebayesh marsh, Dhi Qar province, Iraq, August 24, 2021. Iraq's 2020-2021 rainfall season was the second driest in 40 years, according to the United Nations, causing the salinity of the wetlands to rise to dangerous levels. Animals fell sick and died, and Baher was forced to buy fresh drinking water for his own herd of around 20 buffaloes, his only source of income. Another drought is predicted for 2023 as climate change, pollution and upstream damming keep Iraq trapped in a cycle of recurring water crises. "The marshes are our life. If droughts persist, we will stop to exist, because our whole life depends on water and raising water buffaloes," said Baher. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani SEARCH "MARSHES AL-SUDANI" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Sabah Thamer al-Baher sits by his home in the Chebayesh marsh, Dhi Qar province, Iraq, August 15, 2021. Iraq's 2020-2021 rainfall season was the second driest in 40 years, according to the United Nations, causing the salinity of the wetlands to rise to dangerous levels. Animals fell sick and died, and Baher was forced to buy fresh drinking water for his own herd of around 20 buffaloes, his only source of income. Another drought is predicted for 2023 as climate change, pollution and upstream damming keep Iraq trapped in a cycle of recurring water crises. "The marshes are our life. If droughts persist, we will stop to exist, because our whole life depends on water and raising water buffaloes," said Baher. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani SEARCH "MARSHES AL-SUDANI" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Buffalo milk and bread is seen on a tray at the Chebayesh marsh, Dhi Qar province, Iraq, August 15, 2021. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani SEARCH "MARSHES AL-SUDANI" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Buffaloes wade in the water of the Chebayesh marsh in Dhi Qar province, Iraq, August 15, 2021. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani SEARCH "MARSHES AL-SUDANI" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

The house of Sabah Thamer al-Baher is seen in the Chebayesh marsh, Dhi Qar province, Iraq, August 15, 2021. Iraq's 2020-2021 rainfall season was the second driest in 40 years, according to the United Nations, causing the salinity of the wetlands to rise to dangerous levels. Animals fell sick and died, and Baher was forced to buy fresh drinking water for his own herd of around 20 buffaloes, his only source of income. Another drought is predicted for 2023 as climate change, pollution and upstream damming keep Iraq trapped in a cycle of recurring water crises. "The marshes are our life. If droughts persist, we will stop to exist, because our whole life depends on water and raising water buffaloes," said Baher.// REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani SEARCH "MARSHES AL-SUDANI" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Sabah Thamer al-Baher sits at his home in the Chebayesh marsh, Dhi Qar province, Iraq, August 15, 2021. Iraq's 2020-2021 rainfall season was the second driest in 40 years, according to the United Nations, causing the salinity of the wetlands to rise to dangerous levels. Animals fell sick and died, and Baher was forced to buy fresh drinking water for his own herd of around 20 buffaloes, his only source of income. Another drought is predicted for 2023 as climate change, pollution and upstream damming keep Iraq trapped in a cycle of recurring water crises. "The marshes are our life. If droughts persist, we will stop to exist, because our whole life depends on water and raising water buffaloes," said Baher. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "MARSHES AL-SUDANI" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A helicopter carries water from Buffalo Lake while fighting the Chuweah Creek Fire as wildfires devastate Nespelem in eastern Washington state, U.S., July 16, 2021. REUTERS/David Ryder 

Buffaloes are seen in the Chebayesh marsh, Dhi Qar province, Iraq, July 7, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani SEARCH "MARSHES AL-SUDANI" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Sabah Thamer al-Baher carries reeds at the Chebayesh marsh, Dhi Qar province, Iraq, July 6, 2021. Iraq's 2020-2021 rainfall season was the second driest in 40 years, according to the United Nations, causing the salinity of the wetlands to rise to dangerous levels. Animals fell sick and died, and Baher was forced to buy fresh drinking water for his own herd of around 20 buffaloes, his only source of income. Another drought is predicted for 2023 as climate change, pollution and upstream damming keep Iraq trapped in a cycle of recurring water crises. "The marshes are our life. If droughts persist, we will stop to exist, because our whole life depends on water and raising water buffaloes," said Baher. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani SEARCH "MARSHES AL-SUDANI" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Peace Bridge and Canadian border is seen from Buffalo, New York, U.S. April 22, 2021. Picture taken April 22, 2021. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario 

A motorcyclist passes decorative water buffalos, meant for the Lunar New Year of the Ox, wrapped in plastic along a road in Chinatown, Singapore, January 5, 2021. REUTERS/Edgar Su TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

An eighteen-day-old water buffalo called "COVID", that was born during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, is pictured at the National Zoo in Managua, Nicaragua April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas 

An eighteen-day-old water buffalo called "COVID", that was born during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, is pictured at the National Zoo in Managua, Nicaragua April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

An eighteen-day-old water buffalo called "COVID", that was born during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, is pictured next to his mother at the National Zoo in Managua, Nicaragua April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas 

An eighteen-day-old water buffalo called "COVID", that was born during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, is pictured at the National Zoo in Managua, Nicaragua April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas 

President of the National Zoo of Nicaragua Eduardo Sacasa and Eddy Rodriguez examine an eighteen-day-old water buffalo called "COVID", born during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the National Zoo in Managua, Nicaragua April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas 

A volunteer offers water to buffaloes inside an enclosure awaiting sacrifice during the "Gadhimai Mela" festival held at Sunarpur in Rautahat, Nepal December 2, 2019. The festival, renowned for its large number of animal sacrifices, is held every five years at the Gadhimai Temple where devotees from Nepal and bordering India sacrifice buffaloes, goats and birds while offering prayers to Gadhimai, the goddess of power. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar 

A volunteer offers water to the buffalos awaiting sacrifice during the "Gadhimai Mela" festival held in Bariyarpur, Nepal December 2, 2019. The festival, renowned for its large number of animal sacrifices, is held every five years at the Gadhimai Temple where devotees from Nepal and bordering India sacrifice buffaloes, goats and birds while offering prayers to Gadhimai, the goddess of power. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar 

Hay rolls damaged by flooding are set outside a cattle farm after a series of storms across the central plains in Buffalo, Oklahoma, U.S. May 25, 2019. REUTERS/Gene Blevins 

A buffalo wades in the waters of Chebayesh marsh in Dhi Qar province, Iraq April 13, 2019. Picture taken April 13, 2019. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani