Iran’s President Warns of Possible Tehran Evacuation as Water Crisis Approaches Catastrophe

Iran’s President Warns of Possible Tehran Evacuation as Water Crisis Approaches Catastrophe

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a stark warning today amid the worsening water crisis throughout the nation’s capital, stating the government may be forced to order the total evacuation of Tehran if the water situation does not improve by December.

Tehran, home to over 10 million people, is facing the gravest water shortage in its history. According to Mehdi Maghsoudi, Director of Karaj Water Affairs, the Karaj Dam which has a maximum storage capacity of 180 million cubic feet and supplies drinking water to Tehran and a neighboring province—is currently at just 7% of its capacity, with authorities predicting clean water will run out in about two weeks. State reports corroborate that the main reservoir serving the capital now holds only about 14 million cubic meters, down from 86 million last year, marking a dramatic “100 percent drop in precipitation” over the past year.

President Pezeshkian described the situation as “alarming” and emphasized that if significant rainfall does not occur soon, authorities “will have to start restricting water supplies in Tehran next month”with the possibility of an unprecedented evacuation if reserves are depleted.

The crisis, fueled by six years of relentless drought and compounded by declining rainfall currently about 40% below the average for this time of year has brought the region’s main five dams to a historic low, with the overall water system for the capital at just 11% full.

Officials are urgently calling on the public to conserve water and reassess their consumption as mounting pressure on already scarce resources threatens to paralyze daily life and key industries.

The government has already introduced intermittent water cuts and declared emergency holidays this summer to curb water usage.

Evacuation of a megacity the size of Tehran would be logistically daunting and economically devastating, compounding the country’s ongoing challenges with sanctions and public discontent.

If rainfall fails to replenish the reservoirs soon, Tehran faces the very real prospect of becoming the world’s first major capital to be forced into mass evacuation due to an urban water crisis.