The salinity of the Persian Gulf has been increasing for the past two decades, and is now 1.5 times as saline as it was 20 years ago, according to Parvin Farshchi, deputy for marine environment at the Department of Environment. Speaking to reporters during the department’s weekly press conference on Monday, in Tehran, Farshchi attributed the rise in the water’s salt concentration to “human activities and desalination plants,” IRNA reported. “Furthermore, the Persian Gulf’s average temperature has risen by 2° C in the past 17 years,” she added. The rise in temperature and salinity of the Persian Gulf has taken a toll on the region’s marine life, especially coral reefs which have been fighting a losing war with global warming for a while.
