After Ruining a Treasured Water Resource, Iran Is Drying Up
2 days ago
- #water_crisis
- #sustainability
- #Iran
- Iran faces severe water shortages, prompting a necessity to relocate the capital from Tehran to the wetter south.
- Decades of poor water management, overpumping of aquifers, and excessive dam-building have exacerbated the crisis.
- Iran has lost over 210 cubic kilometers of stored water this century, with 32 of the world's 50 most overpumped aquifers located in Iran.
- Agriculture consumes 90% of Iran's water, but overpumping has led to diminishing returns and abandoned farmland.
- Iran's ancient qanat systems, once sustainable water sources, are drying up due to neglect and overpumping.
- Climate change and human interventions like dams and irrigation have reduced aquifer recharge, drying up lakes and wetlands.
- Subsidence from collapsing aquifers is damaging infrastructure in cities like Isfahan and Yazd.
- Experts advocate for repairing qanats and recharging aquifers instead of building more dams and wells.
- Desalination projects are costly and impractical for agriculture, highlighting the need for policy changes.
- Iran must rethink food self-sufficiency and switch to less water-intensive crops to avert water bankruptcy.