At least 210 cities will encounter heightened water tension between June and September, director of the National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company of Iran (Abfa) said.
“In 7,000 rural districts, potable water will be supplied via tankers in the summer and more rural areas are likely to be added to the list,” IRNA also quoted Hamidreza Janbaz as saying.
When necessary, water will be cut and rationed in big cities and small towns, he added.
Janbaz said close to 150 urban and rural areas were on the verge of water tension last summer, which is projected to cross 210 principally due to poor rains (145 millimeters) since September 2020 when the new water year began.
Precipitation in the same period of last fiscal year (Sep. 2019-Feb. 2020) was 302 millimeters.
Energy Ministry’s data show that close to 30 million people are struggling with varying degrees of water scarcity and related challenges that have only deteriorated, as the blame game continues among ministries and related organizations.
“Water-related challenges are complex and cannot be tackled by the Energy Ministry alone,” the Abfa official said.
He called on the ministries of agriculture and education, as well as state organizations, to do their fair share in solving the problem.
“Daily water consumption in Tehran has reached 3.4 million cubic meters that is unprecedented for this time of the year. This is while water stored in dams around the capital city has dwindled by 267 mcm compared to a year ago,” he added.
An estimated 110 million cubic meters of water were used in the capital between May 1 and May 29. The figure was less than 90 mcm last year, IRNA reported based on information from the National Center for Drought and Crisis Management at Iran's Meteorological Organization.
Soaring temperatures in the past two weeks (35°C and above) has made households and businesses crank up cooling systems that are very water-intensive. A majority of homes use the traditional evaporative coolers that consume a great deal of water.
The weatherman has forecast Tehran's temperature to top 39 degrees Celsius in the next few days.
Referring to global standards, Mohammad Reza Bakhtiari, managing director of Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company, said, “A four-member family's average water use is 15 cubic meters per month in the world, whereas in Tehran it is 30 cubic meters for almost 40% of households.”
Catchment Areas
Rainfall in Iran's six main catchment areas has plunged by 51% since the beginning of the current water year in September 2020.
Iran Water Resource Management Company said 145 millimeters of rain (239 billion cubic meters) fell in the last 270 days, down 51% compared to the same period of last year.
Iran is divided into six primary and 31 secondary catchment areas. The six major basins are Central Plateau in Markazi Province, Urmia Lake in the northwest, Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman in the south, Hamoun Wetlands in the east, Karakum basin in the northeast and Caspian Sea in the north.
Caspian Sea in the north logged the highest precipitation at 288 mm, but still was 32% lower than the year before when 424 mm of rain fell in the scenic and tourist region.
Although the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman basin received 441 mm of rainfall in the period (270 days) in 2020, it declined to 202 mm in 2021, down 41%.
Karakum basin in the northeast had 103 mm of rain, which is down 63% compared to the previous year.
Likewise, close to 95 mm of rainfall were registered in the Central Plateau in Markazi Province, which is less than 58% compared to a year ago. The least amount of rain (43 mm) fell in the Hamoun Wetlands in the east, down 70% compared to 2020.
With 229 mm, Urmia Lake basin in the northwest received 14% less rain in the 270 days compared to 2020 when 268 mm of rainfall were recorded.
Unprecedented Climate-Related Problems
Iran is experiencing unprecedented climate-related problems such as drying of lakes and rivers, dust storms, record-breaking temperatures, droughts and floods.
Recent studies have found that compared to the period of 1980–2004, in the period of 2025–49, Iran is likely to experience more extended periods of extreme maximum temperatures in the southern part of the country, more extended periods of dry as well as wet spells, and higher frequency of floods.
In Iran, a country dominated by an arid and semi-arid climate, significant climate anomalies have been observed over the last decade.
In combination with management-related issues, Iran has faced many disasters from the shrinking of a significant number of lakes and river, to land subsidence, floods, and droughts.
Lake Urmia, the largest lake in the Middle East and one of the world’s largest hypersaline lakes, is shrinking again and given the status quo, it may completely dry up in six to nine years.
Hamoun Lake in the east of Iran, Parishan and Shadegan lakes in the south, and Zayandehroud River in the center of Iran are also at risk of disappearing due to mismanagement and climate change.
Iran also has extremely critical conditions in groundwater resources because of overexploitation, and the country ranks among the top groundwater miners in the world.
