Overview
- Masoud Pezeshkian said water rationing would begin by late November if no rain falls, with evacuation of the capital considered if the drought persists.
- Officials report the city’s dam reserves at their lowest levels in roughly 60 years, with some key reservoirs below 10% of capacity.
- Latyan Dam stands at about 9% full, underscoring critically low storage across the network that supplies Tehran.
- Electricity generation has already been hit as hydropower drops and some thermal plants go offline for lack of cooling water.
- Authorities cite prolonged drought, overuse and policy failures alongside sanctions, and are weighing conservation, irrigation upgrades and relocating water‑intensive industries to coastal zones using desalinated water.