"It's the first time I've seen Sijoumi lagoon dry out in this way." Hicham Azafzaf, the scientific coordinator of Tunisia's Bird Lovers Association, said he had never seen such dry wetlands in his 20 years of monitoring them. However, while this summer has been particularly bad, it follows a longer trend that had already had a clear impact on birds. Climate change is not the only danger to Tunisia's wetlands, he said. Yet the lagoons and other wetlands are important for human residents too, regulating local temperature during heatwaves and helping avert dangerous floods by absorbing rainfall from sudden storms.

---

Persons: Radhia Haddad, Sijoumi, Haddad, Hicham Azafzaf, Tunisia's, Azafzaf, Jihed Abidellaoui, Angus McDowall, Conor Humphries Organizations: REUTERS, Association, Thomson Locations: Tunisia, Tunis, TUNIS, Africa, Europe, Ariana, Sicily