Tehran water situation now

 

Tehran's Critical Water Crisis

Tehran is experiencing an unprecedented water emergency that has reached critical levels as of late November 2025. The capital faces potential drinking water depletion within days to weeks, representing the most severe water shortage in decades.

Current Severity

Tehran's five primary reservoir system—Lar, Latyan, Taleqan, Amir Kabir, and Mamloo dams—has collapsed to dangerous levels. Satellite analysis shows that Lar and Latyan reservoirs have shrunk by more than 70 percent since June 2025, far exceeding normal seasonal variation. The Amir Kabir dam now holds only 14 million cubic meters, representing just 8 percent of capacity. Collectively, these reservoirs have dropped from nearly 500 million cubic meters of storage to barely 250 million—a 50 percent loss that could run dry within two weeks at current consumption rates.aljazeera+2​

The severity is underscored by President Masoud Pezeshkian's stark warning: water levels have fallen 43 percent compared to the previous year, and without significant rainfall by December, the capital may require evacuation. Water pressure has already been reduced at night across the city of 10 million residents, and rationing has begun in some neighborhoods.csis+2​

Root Causes

This crisis stems from multiple converging factors:aljazeera+1​

The sixth consecutive year of drought has brought a "100 percent drop in precipitation" in the Tehran region, with early November 2025 rainfall at only 23 millimeters—an 81 percent decrease from historical averages. Iran has received 45 percent below normal annual rainfall, and 19 of 31 provinces are in severe drought. Climate change has intensified the problem through record-breaking temperatures (exceeding 50°C in summer) that accelerate evaporation and groundwater loss.al-monitor+2​

Decades of mismanagement compound the environmental crisis. Tehran's water consumption has ballooned from 346 million cubic meters annually in 1976 to approximately 1.2 billion cubic meters currently, driven by population growth and increased water-intensive services. One-third of water entering Tehran's supply systems is lost to leaks and theft before reaching consumers. The city has lost nearly 90 percent of its vegetation cover, with impermeable surfaces preventing rainfall infiltration that would replenish groundwater and rivers.csis​

Subsidized water pricing worsens the situation—urban consumers pay only 52 percent of actual provision costs, encouraging overconsumption. While 70 percent of Tehran residents exceed the planned 130 liters per capita daily allocation, the vast majority of Iran's water (over 90 percent) is allocated to agriculture, which contributes only 12 percent to GDP. Yet household consumption represents less than 8 percent of total water use, making individual conservation efforts insufficient without agricultural reform.aljazeera+1​

Cascading System Failures

Nineteen major Iranian dams—approximately 10 percent of the nation's total—have essentially run dry, with many operating below 5 percent capacity. Excessive groundwater extraction is depleting the Tehran aquifer at an unsustainable rate of 101 million cubic meters annually, with widespread illegal wells exacerbating the problem. This over-extraction has caused land subsidence damaging infrastructure and roads.iranintl+2​

Water shortages are now triggering electricity shortages, as Iran relies on hydropower for 4.4 percent of generation, and the Karkheh Dam hydroelectric plant recently halted operations due to insufficient water. The Mashhad region—Iran's second-largest city with 4 million residents—faces water reserves below 3 percent capacity.iranintl+2​

Government Response and Outlook

The Iranian government has initiated emergency measures including water rationing, reduced nighttime water pressure to minimize leakage, and rationing of bottled mineral water. The Energy Ministry has warned that widespread water cuts may become necessary, and authorities are urging residents to invest in water storage tanks.csis+1​

However, experts assess that without fundamental reforms addressing water allocation between agriculture and urban use, infrastructure investment, and sustainable groundwater management, Tehran remains on a trajectory toward uninhabitability. The crisis underscores what water experts describe as Iran's "water bankruptcy"—a state where the country has systematically over-extracted and mismanaged its finite water resources to the point of potential systemic collapse.aljazeera+1​

The situation represents a cautionary tale for water-stressed regions globally, demonstrating how climate variability, population growth, agricultural subsidies, and decades of poor governance can converge to create an acute crisis with potentially severe humanitarian and geopolitical consequences.carnegieendowment​

1. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/12/as-the-dams-feeding-tehran-run-dry-iran-struggles-with-a-dire-water-crisis
2. https://www.csis.org/analysis/satellite-imagery-shows-tehrans-accelerating-water-crisis
3. https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2025/11/tehran-taps-run-dry-water-crisis-deepens-across-iran
4. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-tehran-pollution-alarming-water-crisis/33608669.html
5. https://carnegieendowment.org/emissary/2025/11/iran-water-crisis-warning-climate?lang=en
6. https://www.iranintl.com/en/202511294845
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehran_water_shortage
8. https://www.newsweek.com/iran-lake-urmia-disappearing-water-crisis-2127726
9. https://www.rferl.org/a/drought-iran-climate-change/33586262.html
10. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-24/iran-facing-worst-drought-in-60-years/106035210