Tehran faces water shortage, resulting in the city shutting down public restrooms
In the heart of Iran's capital, Tehran, the ongoing water crisis has taken a tangible turn, leading to the closure of public toilets across the city. This development, reported by news portals such as Didehban-Iran and Shargh, has not been explicitly linked to any specific cause or policy.
The water crisis in Iran, exacerbated by prolonged drought, decreased rainfall, high temperatures, and overuse of aquifers, has left the reservoirs feeding Tehran’s dams at about 14 percent capacity. Despite aggressive water conservation campaigns and urgent water transfer projects, the situation continues to worsen daily, affecting essential services like public toilets.
President Massoud Peseschkian's government has appealed to citizens to consume less water, but the crisis has also led to power outages, with hours-long daily water outages for households and businesses, and up to 48 hours without power in some areas. The high temperatures, between 40 and 50 degrees, make the use of air conditioners impossible during these outages, compounding the hardships faced by the city's approximately 15 million inhabitants.
In an effort to conserve water, all dams in the country are almost empty, according to President Peseschkian, who considers the current situation a "natural disaster" that could worsen in a few weeks. The government has been considering drastic measures such as reducing the workweek from five to four days or ordering a one-week shutdown of the capital to save electricity and water. However, these plans have been postponed due to the negative economic impact, but they remain on the agenda.
The closures of public toilets, including those near and inside subway stations, have been met with criticism from groups like Didehban-Iran, who accuse the government of denying Tehran residents a basic necessity. The Tehran municipality has not yet commented on the reports, but they have been confirmed by eyewitnesses.
As the water crisis continues to dominate headlines, many of Tehran's residents are taking to social media to voice their concerns about living conditions. With an estimated 20,000 public toilets in the greater Tehran area, the impact of these closures is significant, and the government's handling of the crisis remains a topic of ongoing debate.
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- What is the cause of the water crisis in Iran, as reported by Didehban-Iran and Shargh, remains unclear despite being exacerbated by prolonged drought, decreased rainfall, high temperatures, and overuse of aquifers?
- The ongoing water crisis in Iran, which has resulted in the closure of public toilets across Tehran, has led to a heated debate about President Massoud Peseschkian's government's handling of the issue, particularly in relation to environmental science, policy-and-legislation, and politics.
- The adverse effects of Iran's water crisis extend beyond essential services like public toilets, with power outages affecting up to 15 million Tehran residents, forcing them to go without air conditioning during scorching temperatures, rendering the situation a general-news concern for both local and international news outlets.
