The Thirsty Province

Data released by the Drought Management Center at Iran's Meteorological Organization shows almost 80% of Isfahan Province is suffering from dry and disturbing conditions to varying degrees.
Located in an arid region with minimal rainfall, Isfahan has been struggling with drought for years, which has resulted in drying up of the famous Zayandehroud River. 
A whopping 3 billion cubic meters of water is annually extracted from underground sources in the parched province via 40,000 authorized wells, IRNA reported.
There are said to be 21,000 illegal wells in the area which pump 350 million cubic meters of water from depleting underground aquifers per year.