Iran’s ‘water chapter downside’ is nothing new, says UN knowledgeable

[ad_1] LISTEN | Evacuating Iran's capital amid extreme drought is not potential, says UN knowledgeable : As It Occurs 6:33 Evacuating Iran's capital amid extreme drought is not potential, says UN knowledgeable

As Iran faces extreme drought, Kaveh Madani says the scenario in his residence nation is dire.

“We're speaking about just a few days and even weeks of water left for Tehran,” the director of the UN College Institute for Water, Surroundings and Well being instructed As It Occurs host Nil Koksal.

“Day zero as we name it within the water sector is close to. It’s a day that the faucets would run dry,” mentioned Madani, who spoke to Koksal from Richmond Hill, Ont.

Iran, a rustic of greater than 90 million, is going through an unprecedented water and vitality disaster as reservoirs shrink to file lows, endangering consuming water and energy provides.

The nation is grappling with its sixth consecutive yr of drought, with about 10 per cent of Iran's dams successfully operating dry nation broad.

Entry to water has been restricted at occasions, and Iran's president has even recommended evacuating the nation's capital.

“If it doesn’t rain in Tehran by late November, we’ll need to ration water,” mentioned Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian final week. “And if it nonetheless doesn’t rain, we’ll need to evacuate Tehran."

Underlying Points Madani says Iran’s “water chapter downside” is nothing new. Neither is it solely the results of a scarcity of rainfall, he says.

The previous deputy head of Iran’s Division of Surroundings blames a long time of mismanagement, lack of foresight and an overreliance on groundwater assets.

“Greater than 70 per cent of Iran's over 90 million persons are in just a few metropolitan areas. That type of human focus anyplace on this planet would trigger hassle,” mentioned Madani.

He pointed to an inefficient agricultural sector that consumes about 90 per cent of Iran’s freshwater, a lot of it by way of poor irrigation for thirsty crops in dry areas.

However as a result of many individuals in these rural areas are employed on farms, water is allotted generously to maintain the business and people jobs afloat.

<img loading="lazy" alt="The exposed shoreline of Latyan Dam shows significantly low water levels near Tehran, Iran, on November 10, 2025. The reservoir, which supplies part of the capital's drinking water, has seen a sharp decline due to prolonged drought and rising demand " srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/4c414a0c-c53b-4b58-88d6-0c61c5b7ec78,1763074084871/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C6000%2C4000%29%3BResize%3D805 805w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/4c414a0c-c53b-4b58-88d6-0c61c5b7ec78,1763074084871/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C6000%2C4000%29%3BResize%3D1104 1104w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/4c414a0c-c53b-4b58-88d6-0c61c5b7ec78,1763074084871/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C6000%2C4000%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) 93.6vw,730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/4c414a0c-c53b-4b58-88d6-0c61c5b7ec78,1763074084871/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C6000%2C4000%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.5" data-cy="image-img"/> The uncovered shoreline of Latyan Dam reveals considerably low water ranges close to Tehran on Nov. 10. The reservoir, which provides a part of the capital's consuming water, has seen a pointy decline as a consequence of extended drought and rising demand within the Tehran area. (Center East Photos/AFP through Getty) Simply three months in the past, agriculture ministry official Gholamreza Golmohammadi referred to as for the sector to modernize, warning that outdated practices have been draining aquifers and worsening energy outages as pumping methods failed.

On prime of that, Iran’s vitality system is closely reliant on hydropower and fossil fuels. However as rivers and wetlands have been drying up, energy output has plummeted, forcing some crops offline, in response to the Related Press.

“So the home was already on fireplace and local weather change and drought are including gasoline to that fireplace,” mentioned Madani. “The flames are in all places and now not deniable.”

Madani says the ecological toll on the nation is additional worsened by Iran’s battle with Israel and the U.S.

He says Iran wants to chop again on how a lot its economic system depends on groundwater assets by creating different employment alternatives in different sectors for the nation's farmers and its rural inhabitants.

<img loading="lazy" alt="A dry water feature collects dust in a Mellat Park, as the Iran faces sever water shortages, in Tehran on November 9, 2025. Iran was laying plans on November 8, 2025, to cut off water supplies periodically to Tehran's 10-million-strong population as " srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/4c1a542d-70aa-4d0d-9911-34428d1ddf0e,1763150047597/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5808%2C3872%29%3BResize%3D805 805w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/4c1a542d-70aa-4d0d-9911-34428d1ddf0e,1763150047597/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5808%2C3872%29%3BResize%3D1104 1104w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/4c1a542d-70aa-4d0d-9911-34428d1ddf0e,1763150047597/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5808%2C3872%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) 93.6vw,730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/4c1a542d-70aa-4d0d-9911-34428d1ddf0e,1763150047597/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5808%2C3872%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.5" data-cy="image-img"/> A dry water function collects mud in a Mellat Park, because the Iran faces extreme water shortages in Tehran. (Atta Kenare/AFP through Getty Photos) Senior lawmaker Reza Sepahvand says long-standing insurance policies putting different water-intensive industries — together with metal, cement, and petrochemicals — within the nation’s most arid areas are additionally partly guilty.

Sepahvand, who's a member of Iran's parliamentary vitality committee, says these “unsuitable insurance policies” redirected rivers to inland factories that ought to have been situated alongside the coast.

Eyes on the skies Farshid Vahedifard, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Tufts College in Massachusetts, says the nation is in determined want of rainfall and snow in important areas very quickly, or the toll might be important.

"Shortage of water can positively trigger tensions and points," mentioned Vahedifard.

"And this can positively change into extra of a problem, significantly because the nation is coping with some main monetary and financial challenges as a consequence of sanctions and different elements."

And Vahedifard warns that even when the rain comes, the groundwater assets have been so depleted, it will take a long time for them to completely get better. He says the extreme groundwater extraction has even brought on land to sink in some areas, threatening important infrastructure methods equivalent to powerlines, dams, roads and airports.

<img loading="lazy" alt="A car drives past he dried-up Kan River, west of Tehran on November 9, 2025, as the Iran faces sever water shortages. " srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/f4b5e963-f2c8-42de-9bee-6f68f43ccf2a,1763155739801/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5362%2C3575%29%3BResize%3D805 805w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/f4b5e963-f2c8-42de-9bee-6f68f43ccf2a,1763155739801/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5362%2C3575%29%3BResize%3D1104 1104w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/f4b5e963-f2c8-42de-9bee-6f68f43ccf2a,1763155739801/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5362%2C3575%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) 93.6vw,730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/f4b5e963-f2c8-42de-9bee-6f68f43ccf2a,1763155739801/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5362%2C3575%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.4998601398601399" data-cy="image-img"/> A automotive drives previous he dried-up Kan River, west of Tehran on Nov. 9, because the Iran faces sever water shortages. (ATTA KENARE/AFP through Getty Photos) Is reform potential? Madani says evacuating, because the president has floated, and even relocating Tehran residents will not be potential.

“I don’t assume that may be critical as a result of … that might paralyze the system even additional,” mentioned Madani.

As a substitute, he says the federal government might have a look at some short-term options, together with measures they've employed up to now equivalent to prolonging weekends and shutting down faculties and workplaces, which might encourage individuals to depart town throughout these weekends.

WATCH | Faucets run dry as Iran faces drought disaster: Faucets run dry as Iran faces drought disaster

Iran is grappling with its worst water disaster in a long time after a scorching summer season. President Masoud Pezeshkian has cautioned that if rainfall doesn't arrive by December, the federal government should begin rationing water in Tehran and should even need to evacuate town. “For those who solely have just a few days of water left, saving even for just a few hours would make a distinction,” mentioned Madani.

As for long-term options, Vahedifard says it begins with the federal government truly acknowledging that there's a downside, one thing he says officers weren't doing two years in the past.

"I am glad to see that there's this danger consciousness, though it's kind of late," mentioned Vahedifard.

He says it’s now important for presidency officers to maneuver from supply-driven water administration to a resilience-based method that identifies important factors for strategic water allocation.

However Madani says he doesn’t anticipate any radical shifts in behaviour that truly results in coverage reform.

“I'd anticipate … extra money being paid to the dam builders and development firms who declare that they will do magic by bringing extra water from the coast and desalinating extra water," mentioned Madani. "Technological options are a lot simpler to implement than coverage reforms, which might be at all times very expensive."