Almost Out of Water

Research conducted by Yazd University for the Majlis Research Center shows that climate change will convert semi-arid regions in the central plateau to arid zones and water shortages in both areas will exacerbate sooner than had been expected.
"The survey highlights the fact that because agriculture accounts for the main share of water consumption, the limited resources cannot be managed efficiently until comprehensive studies are carried out to clearly understand how much water is used for producing certain crops. Under present conditions planting water-intensive crops (rice and wheat) will further diminish water resources and result in colossal damage," ISNA reported.
According to the report, an estimated 8 billion cubic meters of water was consumed in Iran to produce food,  namely wheat, in 2011 and the figure has been rising over the past decade. Serious concerns about water shortages have led to developing new concepts like virtual water, a universally accepted water saving method, which seemingly has not yet been taken seriously by policymakers in Tehran.