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Iranwire – Iran is facing record-breaking gas consumption, as a new cold wave sweeps across the country.
Snow, rain and freezing temperatures have forced school closures in several provinces.
While officials cite the cold weather as the reason for the closures, media outlets suggest they are due to gas shortages impacting heating systems.
On February 28, schools in Markazi, South Khorasan, Hamedan, and parts of Qazvin, Gilan, Alborz, Tehran and Ardabil provinces were again closed for online classes.
“The cold weather and rain are expected to persist for the next two days,” said Hossein Zafari, spokesperson for the country’s crisis management organization.
Images from Tehran and Rasht show snowfall exceeding 50 centimeters in some areas.
Iran’s National Gas Company said gas consumption exceeded 670 million cubic meters per day, a level described as “unprecedented” by Oil Minister Javad Owji.
Authorities reiterated calls for the public to conserve gas, while the Iran Gas Company urged households to maintain indoor temperatures between 18 and 21 degrees Celsius and turn off heating in unoccupied rooms.
Meanwhile, gas supply issues at power plants led to outages in some provinces like Gilan.
Authorities in several cities in Mazandaran have declared a state of emergency and warned citizens of potential gas cut-offs.
Despite Iran boasting the world’s second-largest gas reserves after Russia, insufficient investment, sanctions, mismanagement and outdated technology contribute to gas supply disruptions in winter.
As a result, many power plants and industries switch to fuel oil during the cold season.
