Taps may run dry in this country, where the water crisis is so severe it can be seen from space

⭐ Join our community and access the best we offer!

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on CNN or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Iran is facing an unprecedented water crisis, with Tehran’s main reservoirs nearing depletion after months without rain
• President Masoud Pezeshkian has warned that rationing will begin if rainfall does not arrive by December and even raised the possibility of evacuation for the capital’s 15 million residents
• Across 20 provinces, the rainy season has produced virtually no precipitation and nearly 10% of Iran’s dams are already dry

🔭 The context: Iran’s drought—now in its sixth consecutive year—is the most severe in at least four decades
• Decades of over-extraction, dam building, rapid agricultural expansion, and aging infrastructure have pushed the country into “water bankruptcy,” draining rivers, wetlands and aquifers faster than they can recover
• Reservoirs supplying Tehran, including Latyan and Amir Kabir, are just 8–11% full, while Mashhad’s reserves stand at roughly 3%

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Iran’s emergency highlights the growing global risk of climate-driven water scarcity in megacities
• Depleted aquifers, shrinking lakes and collapsing ecosystems—such as the near-desiccation of Lake Urmia—show how mismanagement combined with warming trends can push water systems past irreversible thresholds
• The crisis demonstrates the urgent need for climate-resilient water governance, reduced agricultural water demand, and long-term adaptation strategies

⏭️ What's next: Authorities may implement formal rationing and targeted relocations, while relying on cloud seeding and short-term restrictions to buy time
• Experts warn that meaningful recovery requires structural reforms: scaling back water-intensive farming, repairing leaking networks, limiting extraction and diversifying the economy
• Even with heavy rains, severely depleted aquifers will not rebound quickly, leaving Iran with shrinking options

💬 One quote: “The water crisis is not only an environmental issue; it is increasingly intertwined with Iran’s social and political future,” said Kaveh Madani

📈 One stat: Tehran’s reservoirs are around 11% full, an unprecedented low at the start of winter.

See on illuminem's Data Hub™ the sustainability performance — carbon credit purchases, total emissions, and climate targets of thousands of companies

Click for more news covering the latest on climate change