Iran faces unprecedented drought as water disaster hits Tehran

[ad_1] Parham Ghobadi BBC Persian

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/6a59/live/3564abe0-bdac-11f0-8456-eff94716b162.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/6a59/live/3564abe0-bdac-11f0-8456-eff94716b162.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6a59/live/3564abe0-bdac-11f0-8456-eff94716b162.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/6a59/live/3564abe0-bdac-11f0-8456-eff94716b162.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/6a59/live/3564abe0-bdac-11f0-8456-eff94716b162.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/6a59/live/3564abe0-bdac-11f0-8456-eff94716b162.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/6a59/live/3564abe0-bdac-11f0-8456-eff94716b162.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6a59/live/3564abe0-bdac-11f0-8456-eff94716b162.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="EPA A woman stands by an almost entirely dried out river in Tehran that was once full " class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> EPA Iran - particularly its capital, Tehran - is going through an unprecedented drought this autumn, with rainfall at report lows and reservoirs practically empty. Officers are pleading with residents to preserve water because the disaster deepens.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has warned that if there's not sufficient rainfall quickly, Tehran's water provide might be rationed. However he stated that even rationing may not be sufficient to stop a catastrophe.

"If rationing would not work," Pezeshkian stated, "we could should evacuate Tehran."

His feedback have prompted criticism in Iranian newspapers and on social media. Former Tehran mayor Gholamhossein Karbaschi referred to as the concept "a joke" and stated "evacuating Tehran is unnecessary in any respect".

Iran's meteorological officers say no rainfall is anticipated over the following 10 days.

In the meantime, the water disaster is already affecting each day life within the capital.

"I am planning to purchase water tankers to make use of for bathrooms and different requirements," a lady in Tehran instructed BBC Persian.

In the summertime, Iranian rapper Vafa Ahmadpoor posted a video on social media displaying a kitchen faucet with no working water.

"It has been 4 or 5 hours," he stated. "I've purchased bottled water simply to have the ability to go to the bathroom."

Dams practically empty

The supervisor of the Latian Dam, certainly one of Tehran's important water sources, says it now holds lower than 10% of its capability. The close by Karaj Dam — which provides water to each Tehran and Alborz provinces — is in a equally dire situation.

"I've by no means seen this dam so empty since I used to be born," an aged native resident instructed Iranian state TV.

In line with Mohammad-Ali Moallem, the supervisor of the Karaj Dam, rainfall has plummeted dramatically.

"We had a 92% lower in rain in comparison with final yr," he stated. "We've got solely eight per cent water in our reservoir — and most of it's unusable and thought of 'lifeless water.'"

Fears of water cuts

The federal government is now pinning its hopes on late autumn rain, however forecasts are bleak. Iran's Minister of Power, Abbas Ali Abadi, has warned the state of affairs may quickly pressure authorities to chop water provides.

"Some nights we'd lower the water stream to zero," he stated.

Officers have additionally introduced plans to penalise households and companies that eat extreme quantities of water.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/308a/live/1d7c9b30-bdae-11f0-8669-5560f5c90fbe.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/308a/live/1d7c9b30-bdae-11f0-8669-5560f5c90fbe.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/308a/live/1d7c9b30-bdae-11f0-8669-5560f5c90fbe.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/308a/live/1d7c9b30-bdae-11f0-8669-5560f5c90fbe.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/308a/live/1d7c9b30-bdae-11f0-8669-5560f5c90fbe.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/308a/live/1d7c9b30-bdae-11f0-8669-5560f5c90fbe.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/308a/live/1d7c9b30-bdae-11f0-8669-5560f5c90fbe.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/308a/live/1d7c9b30-bdae-11f0-8669-5560f5c90fbe.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="ABEDIN TAHERKENREH/EPA/Shutterstock Someone filling up a water bottle from a water fountain in Tehran" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> ABEDIN TAHERKENREH/EPA/Shutterstock The federal government has warned that it could have to limit water provides if the climate stays dry

Pipes, struggle injury - and a widening disaster

Iran's power minister Ali Abadi has stated Tehran's water disaster will not be solely on account of an absence of rainfall. He blamed water leakage brought on by the capital's century-old water infrastructure and even pointed to the latest 12-day struggle with Israel.

Throughout that battle, Israel focused the northern Tehran neighbourhood of Tajrish on 15 June. Afterwards movies confirmed heavy flooding within the space.

The day after the strike, the Israel Defence Forces stated it had focused Iranian navy "command centres".

However the disaster extends far past the capital.

The top of Iran's Nationwide Centre for Local weather and Drought Disaster Administration, Ahmad Vazifeh, has warned that, other than Tehran, dams in lots of different provinces — together with West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan and Markazi — are additionally in a "worrying state", with water ranges within the single-digit percentages.

In Mashhad, Iran's second-largest metropolis, officers are sounding the alarm as nicely.

The Governor of Khorasan Razavi Province in north-east Iran, stated the water reserves in Mashhad's dams have dropped to "lower than eight %," warning that the province faces a "mega-challenge of drought."

CEO of Mashhad's Water and Wastewater Firm put the determine even decrease.

"The storage stage of town's important dam is beneath three %," Hossein Esmaeilian stated.

"Solely three % of the mixed capability of Mashhad's 4 water-supplying dams — Torogh, Kardeh, Doosti, and Ardak — stays. Aside from Doosti Dam, the opposite three are out of operation."

A disaster lengthy foreseen

Iran's water disaster has been many years within the making.

Even Iran's Supreme Chief, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly acknowledged the looming menace — talking about water shortages in his Nowruz addresses in 2011 and on different events within the following years.

But little has modified.

Immediately, Tehran, Karaj and Mashhad — house to greater than 16 million folks mixed — are going through the actual chance of their faucets working dry.