{"id":261051,"date":"2022-07-10T22:03:34","date_gmt":"2022-07-10T20:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=261051"},"modified":"2023-02-04T12:57:05","modified_gmt":"2023-02-04T11:57:05","slug":"irans-lake-urmia-drying-up-tip-of-an-iceberg-of-the-countrys-environmental-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/irans-lake-urmia-drying-up-tip-of-an-iceberg-of-the-countrys-environmental-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s Lake Urmia Drying Up: Tip of an Iceberg of the Country\u2019s Environmental Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"lake-urmia-iran\"<\/p>\n

Climate change and global warming are international concerns with destructive effects on human lives. While many governments address the environmental crises, Iran\u2019s ruling theocracy accelerates them. \u00a0Now Iran\u2019s Lake Urmia, the world\u2019s second-largest salt lake, is steps away from drying up. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lake Urmia, one of the most hypersaline lakes and long counted among the world\u2019s largest saltwater lakes, is now a triste shadow of its former self. It is now dubbed as \u201cUrmia Desert.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Videos from Iran show salt storms resulting from the drying of Lake Urmia. Coupled with Iran\u2019s high pollution rate, this means more Iranians, particularly in northwest Iran, will suffer. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With almost 90 miles in length and stretching 34 miles at its widest point, Lake Urmia and its watershed are critical in the lives of millions of people and 226 species of birds and other animals.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This once-vast lake is situated in Iran\u2019s far northwest and was a one-time holiday haven, but it has now turned into stretches of sunbaked solid mud.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the Nature website<\/span><\/a>, \u201cThe Lake Urmia Basin (LUB), with an area of 51,876 km2, hosts agricultural areas for FP and industrial activities. Extensive plains and fertile agricultural farmlands surrounding the lake have made LUB one of the most critical areas for food production and animal husbandry in Iran.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With more than a hundred small rocky islands, Urmia Lake is a stopover for migratory birds, including flamingos, pelicans, storks, and ducks. UNESCO has registered it as a protected area. But the regime has not treated this national treasure the way others value their national treasures. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the last few years, officials ignored calls by many experts to address the gradual drying of the Lake. Once dried, the expanse of Lake Urmia\u2019s flat salty areas increases, jeopardizing the lives of millions of Iranians. There will be drastic ecosystem changes, and there will be salt and dust storms, as well as extensive soil and water salinization.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Once Lake Urmia\u2019s water completely vanishes, there will be salt domes and high desertification, negatively impacting Iran\u2019s already damaged agriculture.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Climate change and global warming indeed play an important role in this tragedy. But what has aggravated this problem is the regime\u2019s inappropriate irrigation practices and extensive anthropogenic pressure, which accelerate the drying process of Lake Urmia. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The three main factors in the drying up of Lake Urmia are:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n