Water crisis deepens across Iran as Tehran’s taps run dry- All you need to know | World News
The dried-out Zayanderud riverbed in Isfahan, Iran. Lawmakers are warning that one province will run out within three months, and the shortage is inflaming tensions with the country’s neighbors. (The New York Times)
Row of worshippers have been praying in several mosques for rain as Iran is facing its worst water scarcity crisis in decades and officials have warned that capital Tehran, a city with more than 10 million people, may soon become inhabitable if the drought continues in the country and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has warned that people may need to evacuate the capital soon.
Pezeshkian has said last month that if rainfall doesn’t arrive December end, the government must start rationing water in the capital city, and the country is still grappling with acute water shortages. “Even if we do ration and it still does not rain, then we will have no water at all. They (citizens) have to evacuate Tehran,” the president had said on November 6.
Why is Iran facing a water supply shortage?
The stakes in Iran are high for the clerical rulers as the water scarcity in 2021 triggered violent protests across the southern Khuzestan province. Protests also broke out in 2018, when farmers in Iran accused the ruling dispensation of water mismanagement. However, after a scorching hot summer, the water crisis the country is facing is not solely due to low rainfall.
The Si-o-Se Pol bridge in Isfahan, Iran. Lawmakers are warning that one province will run out within three months, and the shortage is inflaming tensions with the country’s neighbors. (The New York Times)
Several factors have contributed to the growing shortages of water in Iran, including mismanagement through decades. Critics and experts have reportedly said that the water reserves depleted due to overbuilding of dams, illegal well drilling, and inefficient agricultural practices among others, Reuters reported. However, President Pezeshkian’s government has blamed other factors like the “policies of past governments, climate change and over-consumption”.
Climate change intensified water loss
The water crisis in Iran was followed with record high temperatures and continuous power outages. In order to reduce the consumption of water and energy, the government had declared emergency public holidays in July and August which led to closure of some banks and public buildings as temperatures in Iran touched 50 degrees Celsius in some parts.
Authorities have said that climate change has intensified the water scarcity issue with rising temperatures, accelerating evaporation and groundwater loss. Some temporary measures are being taken the adminration to conserve the remaining water, including decreasing the water pressure from some areas and transferring water to Tehran from other reservoirs.
(with inputs from Reuters)
