Environment

Radiofarda – Iran’s state-run news agency says two consecutive earthquakes, magnitude 4.4 and 4.9, have jolted the country’s western province of Kermanshah. IRNA’s report says the first quake was at a depth of 10 kilometers, the second at 11 kilometers around 8 local time Wednesday morning. U.S. Geological Survey said it registered a magnitude 4.7 and a magnitude 4.5 temblor, …

Radiofarda – Iran’s water management authority says that after a season of heavy rains and weeks of flooding, 82 percent of the country’s dam capacity is full. Iran was suffering from dangerous drought for nearly a decade and some cities were facing water shortages as recently as last summer. But the winter and spring of 2018-2019 had a different story …

SEMNAN (Mehr News Agency) – Three Persian leopards and an Asiatic cheetah have been spotted in Khar Turan National Park of Shahroud, Semnan province, a senior official at the Department of Environment (DOE) said. Three Persian leopards spotted in Semnan Amir Abdoos, director of Semnan’s DOE office, said the three mature leopards were spotted by the trap cameras while approaching …

Iran-HRM – Despite having the funds, Tehran denies relief to flood victims Massive flood damage  Since mid-March, flash floods have hit 25 of Iran’s 31 provinces, forcing mass evacuations, ravaging infrastructures, and inflicting heavy losses on the agricultural sector. Citing the European Commission, the United Nations estimated that at least 12 million citizens across Iran have been affected by the …

Radiofarda – Migratory flamingos have returned to wetlands near Isfahan, central Iran, following substantial rainfalls in the area, reported official news agency IRNA on Saturday May 11. Flamingos in Isfahan, Iran, IRNA photo, May 11, 2019 IRNA quoted an Iranian environmental agency officer as saying that the flamingos’ comeback to Gavkhouni wetlands was simultaneous with the forgotten visit to the …

Iran’s Lake Urmia has been greatly replenished and revived as a result of sustained and at times heavy rains in the past two months, with its water surpassing 5 billion cubic meters or 1.32 trillion U.S. gallons. An official in West Azerbaijan province told Tasnim news agency, the surface area of the lake has expanded to 3,180 square kilometers, or …

PayvandNews – Tehran Zoological Garden, also known as Eram Zoo, will be home to Asiatic lion, which was extinct in the country for almost 80 years, a veterinarian at Eram Zoo has said. Asiatic Lion at Eram Zoo in Tehran According to Iman Memarian the last remaining Asiatic lion was sighted about 80 years ago in Iran. He went on …

Radiofarda – Some two months after massive swarms of locusts attacked southern Iran, the government allocated a 10 billion tuman budget for fighting the pest, Mehr news agency reported on Monday April 29. Mehr added that the Iranian Pest Control Authority had called for a 12 billion tuman [roughly $1,200,000 at the market rate and $3 million at the government rate] …

Al-Monitor – This year, the Nowruz holidays in Iran were accompanied by unpleasant events. Heavy rainfall in the final days of March caused massive flooding in different regions across Iran, especially in the northern province of Golestan, the western province of Lorestan, the southern province of Khuzestan and some regions in the east. The Iranian Red Crescent Society soon announced …

Radiofarda – Following one month of floods in many parts of Iran, a new wave of torrents hit the southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province, while the southwestern oil region continues to struggle with flood disruptions. The news website of the monopolized state-run national Radio and TV reported that flash flood waters from Afghanistan have entered Iran and diverted to Lake …