{"id":339988,"date":"2025-12-01T13:45:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T12:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=339988"},"modified":"2025-12-01T13:48:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T12:48:12","slug":"dry-skies-dirty-air-and-a-sliding-rial-irans-crises-collide-in-early-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/economy\/dry-skies-dirty-air-and-a-sliding-rial-irans-crises-collide-in-early-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"Dry Skies, Dirty Air, And A Sliding Rial: Iran\u2019s Crises Collide in Early Winter"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Reservoir
Reservoir levels at the Karkheh Dam dropped so sharply that its power plant was taken offline \u2014 Khuzestan, December 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Iran entered December with an unusual synchrony of disruptions: schools closed across more than a dozen provinces, a major hydropower plant idled, the currency weakening past 116,000 tomans to the dollar, and a senior health official resigning after a bribery allegation. None of these shocks is new on its own\u2014what stands out is how many are hitting at once, and how often the warnings now come from the regime\u2019s own institutions.<\/p>\n

One Of the Driest Autumns In 50 Years<\/h3>\n

On Monday, December 1, Ahad Vazifeh, head of the National Climate and Crisis Management Center, told state media<\/a> that Iran is experiencing \u201cone of the driest autumns of the past 50 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

His framing implied an act of nature, but the details he provided pointed to something else: nearly 70 days into the season, vast regions \u201chave not experienced any rainfall\u201d at all\u2014a pattern that experts note has been intensified by decades of misallocated water, exhausted aquifers, and politically driven dam construction.<\/p>\n

IRNA confirmed<\/a> the consequences on Monday when it reported that the Karkheh dam\u2019s power plant\u2014touted for years as a triumph of national engineering\u2014has been forced offline because the reservoir now sits roughly 40 meters below its operational level. Only about 1 billion cubic meters of water remain-a shortfall rooted not just in low precipitation but in chronic over-extraction upstream, unregulated agricultural demand, and past political pressure to keep irrigation promises that the river could not support.<\/p>\n

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Why #Iran<\/a> Is Running Out of Water, Power \u2014 and Patiencehttps:\/\/t.co\/9ZghlJCNpO<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) August 13, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n