Iran faces severe drought in 12 provinces, water shortage worsens

According to the National Drought Center, after two‑thirds of the 2025‑2024 water year and near the end of the main rainfall season, twelve Iranian provinces are experiencing drought conditions. The provinces in drought or severe drought include Hormozgan, South Khorasan, Ilam, Bushehr, West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Kerman, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Isfahan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer‑Ahmad, Yazd, Gilan, Qazvin, Markazi, Semnan, Qom and Tehran. Tehran, Qom, Semnan and Markazi have seen roughly a 30 % reduction in rainfall, the steepest decline among all provinces.

Local officials warn that the drop in precipitation—242 mm below the long‑term average in Shemiranat, 170 mm in Tehran and 142 mm on Mount Damavand—places the water supply under severe strain. They call for immediate water‑saving measures and protection of surface and groundwater resources, noting that even several consecutive wet years would not fully replenish depleted underground reserves.