Iranian President warns of ‘serious’ water crisis

Tehran: Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that parts of the country, including the capital Tehran, are faced with a “serious” water crisis. 

He made the remarks in a meeting with several Iranian media directors in Tehran on Sunday, while highlighting the measures his administration is implementing to tackle the crisis, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

Pezeshkian said round-the-clock efforts were being made to transfer water from the nearby Taleqan Dam to Tehran to ensure sufficient water in the province during the autumn. He noted it was not clear whether the move would help resolve the capital’s water crisis, as the province’s precipitation had dropped by 45 per cent, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Iranian dams’ water reserves constitute only 42 percent of their total capacities, state-run IRIB news agency reported on Sunday.

The report said since the beginning of the current water year, which started on September 22, 2024, only 23.56 billion cubic meters (bcm) of water had entered the country’s dams, a 42 per cent decline compared to the figure for the same period last year, which stood at 40.55 bcm.

Speaking at a press conference in Tehran on Saturday, Mohammad-Taqi Hosseinzaden, CEO of Tehran Water and Wastewater Company’s district 5, said the water reserves of Tehran’s dams would last until late September, urging citizens to manage their water consumption.

The water shortages primarily stem from an “unprecedented” drought that has hit the country since the beginning of the current water year, according to Iran Water Resources Management.

To address the shortages, Iranian authorities have resorted to office closures and reduced working hours in the affected cities as short-term solutions.