Mehdi Zare, researcher and professor at the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering, warned that Iran has one of the highest groundwater depletion rates globally.
He announced that approximately one million wells are currently operating, with half estimated to be unauthorized.
Zare emphasized that the water crisis across Iran is not uniform, with critical areas in the central plateau under the most severe pressure.
He added that the northern slopes of the Alborz Mountains and some northwestern regions still have more reliable water, but per capita water in those areas is also declining.
In a pessimistic drought scenario, total renewable water could decrease to about 70 billion cubic meters, and per capita water could reach approximately 750 cubic meters per person or less.
This situation places Iran on the threshold of absolute water scarcity, threatening the country’s agricultural and urban water security.
Cloudflare