Human Rights Watch has found evidence of a likely large harmful algal bloom along the Shatt al-Arab in the middle of the city of Basra that may have contributed to the health crisis in the summer of 2018. Satellite imagery analyzed by Human Rights also shows that an accumulation of garbage along canals throughout Basra that feed into the Shatt al-Arab in central Basra city, from March 2018 to February 2019. Satellite image date October 28, 2018.
© 2019 DigitalGlobe-Maxar Technologies; Source: European Space Imaging.