Reservoirs of the dams supplying water to Tehran are presently at their lowest degree in a century.
Iranian authorities have urged folks to restrict water consumption because the nation grapples with extreme shortages throughout an ongoing heatwave.
The nationwide meteorological service mentioned Iran is experiencing its hottest week of the 12 months to date with temperatures exceeding 50 levels Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in some areas.
Authorities spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani introduced in a submit on X on Sunday that Tehran province would observe a public vacation on Wednesday due to the continued heatwave.
“In gentle of the continued excessive warmth and the need of conserving water and electrical energy, Wednesday … has been declared a vacation in Tehran province,” she wrote.
Temperatures in Tehran reached 40C (104F) on Sunday with an extra rise to 41C (106F) forecast for Monday, based on meteorological reviews.
Influence of local weather change
Water shortage is a significant difficulty in Iran, notably in arid provinces within the nation’s south, with shortages blamed on mismanagement and overexploitation of underground assets, in addition to the rising affect of local weather change.
Tehran metropolis council chair Mehdi Chamran urged folks to “preserve water to keep away from drops in provides”, based on the ISNA information company.
Authorities throughout Iran have issued comparable appeals in current days, asking residents in a number of provinces to restrict water utilization.
Tehran’s provincial water administration firm known as for utilization to be decreased by “not less than 20 p.c” to assist ease the shortages.
In an announcement, it mentioned “the reservoirs of the dams supplying water to Tehran are presently at their lowest degree in a century”, following years of regular decline in rainfall.
Javan, a conservative newspaper, reported on Saturday that authorities decreased water provides in components of the capital in a bid to mitigate the disaster, leading to “water outages lasting between 12 and 18 hours” in some areas.
Power Minister Abbas Aliabadi apologised on Sunday for decreased water provides, saying the transfer comes “to higher handle assets”.