Environment

Iran-HRM – The governor of Nimruz said that 12,000 hectares of this city’s autumn crops were completely destroyed due to drought and water shortages. Dehmordeh said that the drinking water was supplied with great difficulty to a number of villages with water tankers. He requested that a water pump station and wells be built to provide water for livestock in …

Radiofarda – Power outages are inevitable next summer across Iran, the country’s energy minister has warned.

Radiofarda – The imperiled Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran has shrunk further, losing another 23 square kilometers (roughly nine square miles) of its surface area within a year, local media reported.

Iran-HRM – The Director General of the Social and Cultural Affairs of Golestan Governorate expressed concern over the state of Iran International wetlands in Golestan Province.

nationalgeographic- Revered by ethnic Azeris as “the turquoise solitaire of Azerbaijan,” Lake Urmia was second only to the Caspian Sea as the largest saltwater lake in the Middle East, a haven for birds and bathers. Since the early 1970s nature and humanity have chipped away at this gem tucked in northwestern Iran, reducing its size by about 80 percent over the past …

Radiofarda – A number of protests have broken out in Iran since the beginning of the year over water, a growing political concern due to a drought which residents of parched areas and analysts say has been exacerbated by mismanagement.

Iran-HRM – Exact statistics do not exist on the area of Iran’s forests, but current stats do indicate a process of destruction in Iran’s forests. Over the past five decades, the country’s forest area has dropped from about 18 million hectares to 12.4 million hectares while the northern forest area has dropped from about 3.4 million hectares to 1.8 million …

Iran-HRM – Energy Minister Reza Ardakaniyan said that water quality was a topic that has been overlooked thus far. “To date, we have contaminated water resources with industrial, agricultural and household wastewaters. It’s not possible to continue this situation,” he added. “We are facing a crisis when it comes to providing water rights for wetlands and the environment… We are …

Iran-HRM – A member of the Majlis Environment Fraction said that the country’s water situation was critical. “Many rivers including Orumieh Lake, and Zayandeh Roud have dried out and are on the verge of destruction”, Jonathan Bet Kolia said. He cited the condition of Urmia Lake adding that “if the lake completely dries out and is destroyed, around 14 provinces …

Al-Monitor – Iran is arid with low levels of annual precipitation and limited water resources that have been shrinking. Drought has gripped most parts of the country for at least a decade now, and precipitation has decreased drastically to its lowest level on record in 50 years. However, the situation is expected to get even worse. The latest figures by …