Iranians asked to limit water use as temperatures hit 50C
An Iranian taxi driver cools down by splashing water on his face on a street amid soaring temperatures in Tehran on Tuesday. Pictures: AFP via Getty Images
Iranian authorities have asked people to limit water consumption amid severe heatwaves and a water crisis across the country.
Iran is experiencing its hottest week of the year, according to the national meteorological service, with temperatures exceeding 50C in some areas.
On top of the extreme heat, the country is in a serious water crisis. Iran has been in drought for five years, with rainfall even lower this year.
The minister of energy, Abbas Aliabadi, announced last week negotiations to import water were under way with Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
The country has hundreds of dams, built from the 1950s onwards, but the drought has significantly reduced their output.
This, as well as problems with infrastructure and the heatwaves, has led to power cuts across the country.
A spokesperson for the Iranian government, Fatemeh Mohajerani, announced over the weekend this Wednesday had been made a public holiday in the capital’s region due to the enduring heatwaves.
“In light of the continued extreme heat and the necessity of conserving water and electricity, Wednesday … has been declared a holiday in Tehran province,” she wrote on X.
Hussain Hassan (name has been changed), in his late 50s, said it was so hot in Tehran and the sun was so fierce, he felt unable to walk in direct sunlight.
He said: “I feel the skin is going to burn. [My] shirt gets wet so quickly and I prefer to take shower twice a day at this age amidst severe heat. Thank God, there is no water crisis where I live.”
He added in some parts of Tehran, authorities had reduced water supplies to manage the crisis.
“I have heard from people that cutting water supply has resulted in water outages lasting at least 12 hours and more,” he said.
According to the climatologist Maximiliano Herrera, the southwestern Iranian city of Shabankareh recorded temperatures of 52.8C over the weekend, potentially the hottest temperature of the year so far (a reading of 53C in Kuwait has not been confirmed).
Meteorologists at Metdesk in the UK reported a temperature reading of 51.6C in the southwestern border town of Abadan on July 17, and 50.3C was recorded in nearby Ahwaz on Monday.
The city of Tehran reported 40C on Sunday, rising to 41C on Monday. For Hassan, the biggest worry is the brewing water crisis as the reservoirs are depleting, and the Karaj dam, which provides water to Tehran province, has hit its lowest level.
Human-caused climate breakdown is making every heatwave in the world more intense and more likely to happen. Some, such as the extreme heatwave in western Canada and the US in 2021, would have been all but impossible without global heating.
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