BEIRUT (dpa)

Lebanon is experiencing an unprecedented water shortage, Energy and Water Minister Joseph Saddi said on Tuesday.

The cause is a 51% decrease in rainfall compared to the average of previous years, he said at a press conference in Beirut.

The number of rainy days has also drastically fallen from 75 to 45 days, the official National News Agency (NNA) quoted him as saying.

Many dams and groundwater reserves are only partially filled, he said.

Saddi criticised that no forward-looking measures, as are customary internationally, have been taken in Lebanon for years.

"Other countries prepare years in advance. We, on the other hand, are unprepared for this crisis today," he said.

The water situation is catastrophic, Saddi said, adding that short-term emergency plans have now been implemented and longer-term reform steps initiated to manage the situation.