TEHRAN: Hundreds of residents gathered on Friday at the Emamzadeh Saleh mosque in northern Tehran to pray for rain, as Iran faces one of its most severe droughts in decades. The mass prayers reflect growing concern over critical water shortages affecting much of the country. Local officials reported that rainfall in Tehran this year has been at its lowest level in a century, and nearly half of Iran’s provinces have not received any significant precipitation in months.
To manage the scarcity, the government has implemented periodic water cuts across Tehran, a city of approximately 10 million people, in an effort to conserve dwindling supplies. Authorities say the capital consumes around three million cubic metres of water per day, putting immense pressure on reservoirs and dams.
During the gathering at the mosque, men and women participated in separate areas, in accordance with Islamic practices. The prayers were a plea for divine intervention to bring much-needed rain to the parched region. Tehran, located on the southern slopes of the Alborz mountains, typically relies on autumn rainfall and winter snowfall to replenish water sources. However, the mountain peaks, which are usually snow-capped at this time of year, remain unusually dry.
President Masoud Pezeshkian recently warned that without rainfall before winter, Tehran could face extreme measures, including potential evacuation, though officials later clarified that his comments were intended to underscore the severity of the drought rather than announce a concrete plan.
The drought has severely impacted the city’s water infrastructure. Of the five major dams supplying drinking water to Tehran, one is completely empty, and another is operating at less than eight percent of its capacity. With winter approaching and reservoirs critically low, authorities are urging residents to conserve water wherever possible, highlighting the urgent need for rainfall to avert a deepening crisis.
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