Iran’s Water Emergency and Displacement Crisis
By Jon Qasimi
Iran is facing one of its most severe domestic challenges in decades: a deepening water crisis that is uprooting rural lives and overwhelming urban infrastructure. Driven by persistent drought, climate change, and decades of policy mismanagement, this crisis has evolved into a multi-dimensional emergency—social, political, economic, and increasingly a regional security concern.
Iran now confronts a dangerous mix of extreme heatwaves, declining rainfall, and critically low water reserves. In July 2025, temperatures soared above 50 °C in parts of southern Iran, forcing authorities to declare an unprecedented public holiday in Tehran and several provinces to conserve water and electricity. Reservoir levels, including Tehran’s Karaj Dam, have dropped to their lowest point in over a century. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned, “if [we] cannot manage and people do not cooperate in controlling consumption, there won’t be any water in [the] dams by September or October,” underscoring the severity of this environmental catastrophe.
While climate change and drought play significant roles, Iran’s water emergency also stems from decades of mismanagement. Overuse of underground aquifers, inefficient irrigation methods, and the proliferation of unregulated wells have drained the country’s water reserves. Groundwater loss reaches an estimated 5 billion cubic meters annually, totaling as much as 70% of Iran’s reserves over the past five decades. Land subsidence is worsening dramatically: in southern Tehran, the ground is sinking up to 31 cm per year, damaging infrastructure including roads, railways, and heritage sites such as Persepolis. Nearly half the country now lives in subsiding zones, prompting officials to consider relocating the capital.
This environmental collapse is forcing the abandonment of entire livelihoods. Provinces like Khuzestan, Sistan-Baluchistan, Isfahan, and Kerman are losing villages and communities as water sources dry up and desertification advances. Long-term trends combined with intensifying drought have driven tens of thousands of Iranians annually to migrate—farmers, fishermen, and families alike—seeking refuge in larger cities with better infrastructure.
These environmental migrants increasingly strain urban centers such as Tehran, Mashhad, Shiraz, and Isfahan. The influx exacerbates shortages in housing, water, sanitation, education, and employment, intensifying socio-economic disparities. Informal settlements are expanding on the city outskirts, often lacking basic utilities. Cities face difficult trade-offs between supplying water for agriculture or for residential use, fueling tensions that threaten social cohesion and raise the risk of unrest.
Many Iranians blame government failures for the worsening crisis. Water protests in the southwest, notably in Khuzestan, have erupted violently since 2021, leading to mass arrests and crackdowns. Officials have sometimes deflected blame onto upstream neighbors such as Afghanistan for Helmand River diversions or accused citizens of overconsumption, rather than addressing systemic governance failures. These unresolved tensions in marginalized provinces continue to undermine stability and risk further social fragmentation.
Iran’s water crisis is more than an environmental challenge—it is a social and political fault line. The convergence of climate extremes and long-term mismanagement has displaced communities and destabilized cities. Against the backdrop of ongoing regional conflicts, water scarcity adds another layer of hardship for millions of Iranians who are forced to leave their homes in search of a better future.
Addressing this crisis requires immediate, coordinated action—implementing water conservation practices, reforming governance, investing in sustainable infrastructure, and protecting displaced populations along with their host communities. Without such steps, Iran risks condemning millions to a future defined by scarcity, migration, inequality, and unrest.
About the author: Jon Qasimi is a current intern at Displaced International (DI), where he contributes to research, policy analysis, writing, and organizational support. His work strengthens DI’s global advocacy on behalf of forcibly displaced populations around the world.
