ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a stark warning on Thursday that the capital city Tehran may have to be evacuated if there is no rainfall, as a severe water shortage has plagued the country.
“If it does not rain, we will have to start restricting water supplies in Tehran next month. If the drought continues, we will run out of water and be forced to evacuate the city,” Pezeshkian said during a visit to Sanandaj in the country's western Kurdish region (Rojhelat).
Nearly 10 million people live in Tehran.
Pezeshkian described the situation in the city as "alarming," and urged better water management and conservation.
Tehran’s water supply depends on five main dams: Lar, Mamlu, Amir Kabir, Taleqan, and Latyan. Amir Kabir is the largest of the dams, but is on track to run dry in less than two weeks.
The dam now “holds just 14 million cubic metres of water, which is eight percent of its capacity,” said Behzad Parsa, director of the capital’s water company, IRNA reported earlier this week.
This number is down from last year's 86 million cubic metres of water, according to Parsa.
The population of Tehran consumes around three million cubic metres of water each day, according to Iranian media.