Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned of dire consequences that the country may face if the current drought wave continues
Pezeshkian stressed that the government will take “strict measures” to rationalize water consumption if rain does not fall before the end of November.
Official media quoted Pezeshkian as saying that the continued drought may force the authorities to implement emergency plans, noting that “lack of rain may force us to evacuate the capital, Tehran,” which is inhabited by about 15 million people.
For months, Iran has been witnessing an unprecedented water crisis, which has prompted the authorities to repeatedly warn of its economic and social consequences, and to call on citizens to rationalize water use.
Local reports stated that some neighborhoods of the capital witnessed a complete water outage during the last hours of the night, while residents in large residential complexes were asked to store water to meet their daily needs.
The drought crisis comes as Tehran residents also suffer from severe air pollution, rising prices, and increasing rental costs.
Official sources announced last month that nineteen major dams in the country are on the verge of drying up, and that the average filling of dams across Iran does not exceed 35%, according to the official Iranian news agency, IRNA.
For years, Iran has been suffering from a worsening water crisis as a result of declining rainfall rates, climate change, and mismanagement of water resources.
Drought severely affects agriculture and urban supplies, threatening water security in several governorates.
These conditions have prompted the government to consider emergency solutions, including plans to rationalize water and redistribute resources among the affected areas.
