Major heatwave in Iran disrupts water and electricity supplies, says state media

A severe heatwave sweeping Iran has disrupted water and electricity supplies in much of the country, with reservoir levels dropping to their lowest point in a century, state media says.

At least 18 of the country’s 31 provinces — including Tehran — have been affected by the extreme temperatures, which began on Friday and is expected to ease gradually by Thursday, according to meteorological authorities cited by state television.

Government offices in at least 10 provinces, including the capital, have been ordered to close in a bid to conserve water and electricity, as temperatures in parts of southern and southwestern Iran soared above 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).

At least 10 provincial capitals recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius on Monday, including Tehran, which reached 40 degrees Celsius for the first time this year, the meteorological agency says.

The heatwave comes amid a sharp drop in rainfall — the worst in 60 years in the capital, according to Tehran’s Provincial Water Supply Company.

The drought has seen the water levels of dams supplying Tehran drop to “their lowest level in a century,” the company says, advising people to use a tank and pump to cope with ongoing water disruptions.

Many residents across Tehran reported water outages lasting several hours in the past few days.

“The water crisis is more serious than what is being talked about,” President Masoud Pezeshkian warned on Sunday, adding that the country would “face a situation in the future for which no solution can be found” if current trends continue.

“Measures such as transferring water from other places to Tehran will not solve the problem fundamentally,” he said.