Akeel Khreef’s year-long exploration of the drying out of Iraq’s marshes has culminated in the burial of a fish in the world’s largest cemetery. The Wadi Al Salam cemetery in the Iraqi city of Najaf attracts millions of pilgrims annually. Khreef follows traditional rituals as he walks the dead fish through the cemetery to its…

Akeel Khreef shrouds a traditional boat in a white cloth, as he mourns the decline of the ancient cultures living along Iraq’s marshes, in his May report for the World Weather Network. Follow Akeel Khreef’s journey through Iraq’s southern marshes for the World Weather Network here.