The Sawa Lake, a biodiverse wetland situated near the city of Samawa, south of the capital Baghdad, has disappeared largely due to human activity and climate change.

Abandoned hotels and tourist facilities here date back to the 1990s when newly-weds and families came to swim and picnic.

However, today, the lake is totally dry and only a pond remains where tiny fish swim. Bottles and plastic bags litter its former banks.

Environmental activists say in previous years, the water area had decreased during the dry seasons but this year, for the first time, the lake has disappeared.

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