Vice-President and Head of Iran's Department of Environment, Dr. Masoumeh Ebtekar[/caption]Ina speech at the National Conference on Urban Policy, Masoumeh Ebtekar, thehead of Irans Environmental Protection Organization, warned about the dangers ofclimate change. Ebtekar, who is also one of President Hassan Rouhanis vice presidents, said that climate change would impact not only Iran and the Middle East region but the world, callingclimate change a serious threat for life on Earth.
According to a transcript published by the Islamic Republic News Agency Feb. 18, Ebtekarsaid, Global warming will have a very dangerous process and will be followed by devastating impacts and consequences. She said that global warming will result in rising water levels, reduced rainfalland the submergingof various regions.
Ebtekar also warned about the water crisis in Iran, saying that according to Irans Energy Ministry, The water situation of 14 cities in the country have alarming conditions. She did not specify which cities, other than Tehran, the nations capital with a population over 12 million in the greater metroarea, were included on this list.
According to Irans meteorological service, with the exception of justthreeyears, Iran has experienced 23 consecutive years of reduced rainfall and increases in temperature, she reported.
Ebtekar said that Iran needs a national policy to address this crisis and that given the decrease in water resources and reduced rainfall, the current method of collecting water from drainage basins is no longer a workable policy.
This isnt the first time that Iranian officials have warned about the dangers of the countrys water crisis, nor of climate change. In July2013, former Agriculture Minister Issa Kalantari warned that Iran would become uninhabitable if it doesnot address the water crisis. He said that in 30 years, Iran could become a ghost town and that millions of Iranians would be forced to migrate.
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