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 document lows and reservoirs almost 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 may very well be rationed. However he mentioned that even rationing may not be sufficient to forestall a catastrophe.

"If rationing would not work," Pezeshkian mentioned, "we might must evacuate Tehran."

His feedback have prompted criticism in Iranian newspapers and on social media. Former Tehran mayor Gholamhossein Karbaschi known as the thought "a joke" and mentioned "evacuating Tehran is mindless 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 bogs and different requirements," a lady in Tehran informed 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 mentioned. "I've purchased bottled water simply to have the ability to go to the bathroom."

Dams almost empty

The supervisor of the Latian Dam, considered one of Tehran's major 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 informed Iranian state TV.

In keeping 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 12 months," he mentioned. "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 Vitality, Abbas Ali Abadi, has warned the scenario might quickly power authorities to chop water provides.

"Some nights we would lower the water stream to zero," he mentioned.

Officers have additionally introduced plans to penalise households and companies that devour 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 might have to limit water provides if the climate stays dry

Pipes, conflict injury - and a widening disaster

Iran's vitality minister Ali Abadi has mentioned Tehran's water disaster just isn't solely attributable to 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 conflict with Israel.

Throughout that battle, Israel focused the northern Tehran neighbourhood of Tajrish on 15 June. Afterwards videos showed heavy flooding in the area.

The day after the strike, the Israel Defence Forces mentioned it had focused Iranian army "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, aside from 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 effectively.

The Governor of Khorasan Razavi Province in north-east Iran, mentioned 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 the town's major dam is under three %," Hossein Esmaeilian mentioned.

"Solely three % of the mixed capability of Mashhad's 4 water-supplying dams — Torogh, Kardeh, Doosti, and Ardak — stays. Other than 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 risk — talking about water shortages in his Nowruz addresses in 2011 and on different events within the following years.

But little has modified.

Right this moment, Tehran, Karaj and Mashhad — dwelling to greater than 16 million individuals mixed — are going through the true risk of their faucets working dry.