Iran’s lakes are vanishing: Satellite images show a deepening water crisis
Key takeaways
- Years of drought, falling rainfall and unsustainable water use have been worsened further by the US-Israel war.
- Iran is classified by the World Resources Institute as facing “extremely high” baseline water stress, using more than 80 percent of its renewable water supplies each year.
- In this visual explainer, Al Jazeera breaks down Iran’s worsening water crisis and what is driving it.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Years of drought, falling rainfall and unsustainable water use have been worsened further by the US-Israel war.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Dried-up fish lie on the shore of dried Lake Hamun near Zabol, Iran [File: Mohammad Dehdast/Picture alliance via Getty Images]By Mohamed Hussein Published On 9 Jun 20269 Jun 2026For many Iranians, the most immediate threat is no longer just war, but water.
Years of drought, falling rainfall and unsustainable water use have pushed the country into severe water stress, depleting reservoirs, rivers and groundwater reserves. The US-Israel war on Iran has added further strain after reports of damage to desalination plants, pipelines and other civilian water infrastructure in the early weeks of the conflict.