A “New Delta” in the Desert
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- egyptag_oli_20181128_lrg.jpg (2206x1838, JPEG)
- egyptag_oli2_20241120_lrg.jpg (2206x1838, JPEG)
Metadata
- Sensor(s):
- Landsat 8 - OLI
- Landsat 9 - OLI-2
- Data Date: November 28, 2018 - November 20, 2024
- Visualization Date: December 23, 2024
Part of a major push to green Egypt’s deserts, the New Delta project aims to transform 2.2 million feddans (9,240 square kilometers, or 3,500 square miles) of mostly barren desert west of the Nile Delta into productive farmland. The OLI (Operational Land Imager) and OLI-2 on Landsat 8 and 9 captured this pair of images showing the expansion of green landscapes in parts of the Alexandria and Beheira governorates in November 2018 (left) and November 2024 (right).
Much of the new development is spread along a highway that connects El Dabba on Egypt’s north coast to Cairo. Note the canal extending northeastward from the upper left of the image. With the help of several pumping stations, this waterway transports wastewater from a holding lake in Alexandria to a new treatment plant to the south. Completed in 2023, it can process 7.5 million cubic meters of wastewater per day, enough to make it the largest wastewater and sludge treatment plant in the world, according to Guinness World Records.
Plans call for recycled water from the plant to feed into irrigation networks that supply the proliferating croplands in the area, but the system will not provide all the water that thirsty crops need. Pumped groundwater and water from a canal that connects to the Rosetta Branch of the Nile are also important sources of water for the region.
New farmland is also appearing in many other parts of Egypt. Boston University researchers used decades of observations from Landsat satellites to map areas where agricultural lands spread, were lost to urbanization, or abandoned between 1987 and 2019. They mapped 16,000 square kilometers of new farmland in Egypt, mostly in the Nile River valley and delta near existing agriculture. Over the same period, farmers abandoned 1,700 square kilometers, and new development occurred on 2,300 square kilometers of farmland. The results can be explored in this interactive map.
References
- The Arab Republic of Egypt Presidency (2022) The Inauguration of the “Future of Egypt” Project for Sustainable Agriculture. Accessed December 23, 2024.
- Bratley, K. & Woodcock, C. (2024) Estimating the expansion and reduction of agricultural extent in Egypt using Landsat time series. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 133, 104141.
- Construction Week Online (2024, June 19) Egypt’s New Delta Irrigation Water Treatment Plant declared largest in the world, awarded 4 Guinness records. Accessed December 23, 2024.
- Economy Middle East (2023, March 8) New Delta: The largest in the history of Egyptian agricultural projects. Accessed December 23, 2024.
- Egypt Independent (2023, July 4) Egypt constructs artificial river with LE 160 billion parallel to Nile River. Accessed December 23, 2024.
- Egypt Today (2021, April 6) Egyptian president checks harvest in ‘New Delta.’ Accessed December 23, 2024.
- El-Agha, D., et al. (2024) Toward sustainable management of groundwater in the deserts of Egypt. Hydrogeology Journal, 32, 663-678.
- Gamal, M., via X. (2023, March 7) Egypt’s New Delta Artificial River which extends for about 170km long. Accessed December 23, 2024.
- The Guardian (2024, July 30) Greening the desert: Is Sisi’s grand plan using up all of Egypt’s water? Accessed December 23, 2024.
- Highways Today (2023, September 24) Egypt building the World’s Longest Artificial River through the Desert. Accessed December 23, 2024.
- Nabil, M., et al. (2023) Automatic LU/LC mapping using Google Earth Engine: A case study of Egypt’s New Delta Project. Remote Sensing and GIS Applications, 333-342.
- Egyptian State Information Service (2022, January 18) New Delta project. Accessed December 23, 2024.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Adam Voiland.
This image record originally appeared on the Earth Observatory. Click here to view the full, original record.