Iranian authorities declared a public holiday in Tehran province on Wednesday in an effort to save electricity and water, winding down much of the capital city to cope with one of the country’s most acute environmental crises in decades.
Iranians are accustomed to disruption from air pollution, electricity blackouts and natural gas shortages, but this is the first time an entire province — home to the capital city and more than 14mn people — has been in effect closed because of water scarcity. It represents a dramatic escalation of what experts describe as a long-brewing crisis.
“Tehran is running out of water, and if this continues, we won’t be able to supply the city,” Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday.