Iran’s capital, Tehran, may take action to tackle the country’s historic drought

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Like every Friday, it is a big prayer in Tehran (Iran). But on this day, for rain, the faithful pray: “There is only one solution to fill the rivers and let the rain fall on us, and that is to apologize.” Fatemeh Salehkhani, a resident of Tehran, confirmed that she had come to pray for an end to the drought: “The water shortage is very serious. That’s why today I came here to ask God for mercy.”

Never before in history has the Iranian capital experienced a drought like this. For us, Tehran residents agreed to film their daily lives, on condition of remaining anonymous. A woman shows us the simplest movements that become impossible. No water when opening the tap. There is no water for the toilet either. Regularly, in some neighborhoods in Tehran, water supply is cut off completely. “We don’t know what to do. We can’t wash the dishes anymore. We can’t wash anything anymore. Even our green plants are dying”he testified.

To survive, Iranians store water as best they can: “You see, this is the water supply in my bathroom. You see, almost every night the water is turned off. At least I can use it to rinse my mouth, wash myself, and get out of the shower. That’s how we live.”he showed us. And when there is water, sometimes it is colored: “It often happens that the water is completely yellow or brown, you have to let it drain and wait until the color returns to normal”added our witness.

Faced with this crisis, Iran’s president made a surprising announcement: he wanted to move the capital. We cannot burden this region with more population and development. Technically this can be done, but we cannot solve the water problem”said Massoud Pezeshkian, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

How could Tehran, a huge metropolis of 10 million people, find itself in such an unprecedented crisis? To find out, head to the mountains that surround it and the Latyan dam (Iran). This artificial lake is mostly dry. The surprising image shows a pontoon, now hanging high above the water. The lake is about fifteen meters lower than its maximum height. Another dam, the Amir Kabir dam (Iran), was also affected. Vast stretches of rock and sand lay where, at this time of year, there should have been water. “Before, we came here to fish while admiring the mountains and white water. Now, looking at this view, I get goosebumps.”told us a local resident.

In total, there are five dams that supply water to Tehran. We screened satellite images of each. We compare the normal surface area of ​​Lake Latyan (Iran), in the same season, and that shown today. For Lake Lar (Iran), it is even more impressive. All countries experience severe water deficits, between 32% and just 1% of their capacity. The main reason: Tehran is experiencing its worst drought, with 207 days without rain. Since the start of the year, only 62 millimeters have fallen and this is the fifth year well below the annual average.

According to international expert reports, this drought is caused by global warming. “Events like this are 50 times more likely because of global warming”explains the documents we can consult. Experts and some citizens also point out the poor water management in Tehran. Most importantly, moving the capital seemed to them an illusory solution: “The President of the Republic is funny. He thinks we are like pink flamingos, able to go from one city to another, just like that, by plane, without any problems. But that is impossible. We work here, our children study here”said a woman.

For now, no rainfall is predicted in the next few days. Snow remains rare in the mountains around Tehran, which are usually an important natural water reserve for the capital.

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