{"id":211822,"date":"2026-01-01T17:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T17:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/211822\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T17:00:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T17:00:07","slug":"these-trees-may-not-survive-jordans-ancient-olive-harvest-wilts-under-record-breaking-heat-climate-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/211822\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018These trees may not survive\u2019: Jordan\u2019s ancient olive harvest wilts under record-breaking heat | Climate crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Abu Khaled al-Zoubi, 67, walks slowly through his orchard in Irbid, northern Jordan<\/a>, his footsteps kicking up dust from the parched earth beneath centuries-old olive trees. He stops at a gnarled trunk, its bark split and peeling from months of unrelenting heat.<\/p>\n

He points out that the branches should be sagging under the weight of ripening fruit, but instead they stretch upward, nearly bare, with only a few shrivelled olives clinging to the withered stems.<\/p>\n

Zoubi has tended these trees for almost two decades, learning their rhythms through seasons of abundance and scarcity. But nothing prepared him for this harvest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never experienced anything like this before,\u201d he tells the Guardian as he surveys the damage. \u201cWe\u2019ve lost more than half of our crop before the harvest even started.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ancient olive trees in Irbid endure another season of low rainfall and rising temperatures. Photograph: Mohammad Ersan<\/p>\n

His story has become familiar across Jordan\u2019s olive-growing heartland. The country is facing its weakest olive oil season in four decades, with production down as much as 70% compared with last year. In a typical year, the olive-picking season begins in late September, and mills start processing by mid-October. This year, the harvest did not begin until early November.<\/p>\n

According to the National Agricultural Research Center, the crisis threatens a sector that supports 80,000 families<\/a> and generates more than $1.4bn (\u00a31bn) for Jordan\u2019s economy annually. With an estimated 12 million productive olive trees concentrated in the northern regions of Irbid, Ajloun, Jerash and Mafraq, olive cultivation has been the backbone of rural life for generations. Jordan has long achieved near-total self-sufficiency in olive oil production, covering 98% of domestic needs and generating export revenue. That independence now hangs in the balance.<\/p>\n

A farmer presses olives in Irbid during one of Jordan\u2019s weakest olive harvests in decades. Photograph: Mohammad Ersan<\/p>\n

In the hardest-hit northern regions, output has collapsed to just 10% of the average 200,000 tonnes<\/a> that typically yield 30,000 tonnes of oil. Prices have soared accordingly, with 20-litre containers of olive oil now fetching $190<\/a>, up from $140 previously, while 16kg tins have reached 140 Jordanian dinars ($197) \u2013 a 40% increase over the normal range.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, temperatures were 10-15C above average<\/a>, delaying the winter harvest and affecting nearly every agricultural sector,\u201d says Mahmoud al-Auran, the director of the Jordanian Farmers Union.<\/p>\n

Climate records from the Jordanian meteorological department document<\/a> the severity of 2025\u2019s conditions, including a 13-day extreme heatwave from 12-24 August, the longest on record for the kingdom.<\/p>\n

The 2024-25 rainfall season delivered a further blow, with precipitation levels ranging from just 15% of seasonal averages in Aqaba<\/a> to 79% in parts of the southern Jordan valley. Northern and central regions received roughly 54% of normal precipitation, catastrophic for rain-fed olive groves that depend on seasonal water rather than irrigation systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cOlive trees here depend on rain to grow, not chemical fertilisers,\u201d Auran explains. \u201cHeat and drought give the trees less water, resulting in smaller fruits and oils of less quality.\u201d The prolonged heat severely affected both fruit formation and oil composition, leaving farmers unable to compensate despite supplemental watering and fertilisers.<\/p>\n

One of the olive presses in Irbid runs below capacity amid a steep fall in production. Photograph: Mo\u2019men Malkawi<\/p>\n

In response to the shortage, the government now allows West Bank visitors to bring five tins of olive oil into the kingdom, while the minister of agriculture has pledged to open imports if prices continue rising.<\/p>\n

\u201cOlive oil is woven into the fabric of Jordanian life,\u201d says Amal al-Ghawanmeh, the head of al-Sendyan Land Association for Environmental Development. \u201cWhen production decreases, every household suffers, because families must import oil at more expensive rates, disrupting customary traditions and meals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fayad al-Zyoud, the chair of the Jordanian Association of Olive Producers and Exporters, says small olive groves that typically generate $5,000 in annual income now face severe losses. Women, who form the backbone of the harvest workforce, will see drastically reduced employment.<\/p>\n

\u201cClimatic extremes have created unprecedented declines in traditional cropping systems,\u201d Ghawanmeh says. \u201cRainfall has been scant and irregular, and when storms did come, little replenishment occurred in our mineral-rich soils.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jordanian farmers are calling for drought-resistant olive varieties, improved irrigation infrastructure, and climate-smart agricultural practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fear the day will come when I or my grandchildren will be forced to abandon olive farming, the work our family has lived and breathed for generations,\u201d says Zoubi. \u201cWithout real support, these trees may not survive \u2026 and neither will our way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article is published in collaboration with Egab<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Abu Khaled al-Zoubi, 67, walks slowly through his orchard in Irbid, northern Jordan, his footsteps kicking up dust…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211823,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[273,111,139,69,147],"class_list":{"0":"post-211822","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}