Tehran’s Water Crisis Is a Warning for Every Thirsty City

Tehran’s water crisis is a warning for every thirsty city

Tehran is running out of water. Rationing has begun in Iran’s capital city, with some of the approximately 10 million residents experiencing “nightly pressure cuts” between midnight and 5 a.m. The entire country is in an unprecedented drought, facing its driest — and hottest — autumn in nearly 60 years. Tehran has received no rain at all since the start of September, and no rainfall is expected for the foreseeable future. The city depends on fiv…

Incoming: Millions of Water Refugees from Iran

Tehran is at risk of becoming uninhabitable due to a severe drought that has led to a severe water shortage. The drought has been the catalyst to expose decades of government mismanagement that caused Iran’s water supply to run dry. Now, the government is prepared to issue a city-wide evacuation notice in Tehran if the situation worsens. Rain will not be sufficient to fill the dry reservoir, which was brought about by government mismanagement—fa…

Iran President Declares Tehran Relocation Inevitable Amid Water Crisis

Tehran’s Parched Horizon: Iran’s Desperate Bid to Flee a Sinking Capital Iran’s capital, Tehran, a sprawling metropolis of over 10 million inhabitants, is grappling with an existential threat: it’s running out of water. For years, experts have warned of the impending crisis, but recent developments have escalated the situation to a national emergency. President Masoud Pezeshkian has publicly stated that relocating the capital is no longer option…

Tehran’s water crisis is a warning for every thirsty city

Tehran is running out of water. Rationing has begun in Iran's capital city, with some of the approximately 10 million residents experiencing "nightly pressure cuts" between midnight and 5 a.m. The entire country is in an unprecedented drought, facing its driest - and hottest - autumn in nearly 60 years. Tehran has received no rain at all since the start of September, and no rainfall is expected for the foreseeable future. The city depends on fiv…

Tehran Runs Out Of Water

President Masoud Pezeshkian reportedly told officials last week that the capital of Iran would have to move from Tehran. Since at least 2008, scientists have warned that unchecked groundwater pumping for the city and for agriculture was rapidly draining its aquifers. The overuse did not just deplete underground reserves—it destroyed them, as the land compressed and sank irreversibly. One recent study found that Iran’s central plateau, where mos…