The Iranian military has warned that it would launch attacks on desalination plants and other infrastructure in the region if the US follows through on its threat to target its fuel and energy infrastructure due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Understand the dependence of desalination on your:
- In the UAE, desalinated water makes up more than 80% of drinking water.
- Bahrain became fully dependent on desalinated water in 2016, with 100% of groundwater reserved for contingency plans, according to authorities.
- Qatar depends 100% on desalinated water.
- In Saudi Arabia, a much larger country with greater reserves of natural groundwater, about 50% of the water supply came from desalinated water in 2023, according to the General Statistics Authority.
- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates together produce about a third of the world’s desalinated water and are home to many of the largest desalination plants.
