Iranians are running out of water and choking on some of the world's worst air pollution, environmental crises that critics say exemplify the failures fueling anger at the country's theocratic regime.

"If I want to use one word, it's mismanagement," Hamid Pouran, an environmental technology researcher who studied in Iran and is now based in the United Kingdom, told DW. 

The country's most pressing environmental concern is a worst-in-decades drought, now in its sixth consecutive year. The problem has grown so severe that in November, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said there was no choice but to relocate the capital from Tehran to the south of the country, closer to the Persian Gulf. Critics, though, doubt the move will solve the underlying crisis. 

While Iran is characterized by an arid climate, scarce rainfall and mountainous terrain, environmental researchers say its ecological problems are largely due to corruption and ill-advised policies focused on short-term gain. These and other issues have brought thousands of Iranians out into the streets in protests in recent weeks, often to be met with brutal violence and repression. All of this is worsened by rising global temperatures that are increasing the risk of drought in Iran tenfold. 

"Climate change has exacerbated the problems," Pouran added. "No one denies that. But mismanagement even under uncertain economic conditions is the issue." 

Not enough water for farming 

Almost all the country's water is claimed by agriculture. Shut out from much of global trade, Iran has focused on establishing food self-sufficiency, and over the years has allowed farmers to drill wells into the aquifers deep underground. 

As a result, there are almost twice as many wells in Iran now than two decades ago, and research suggests more than 300 of its 609 aquifers are considered to be in a critical condition. Some 70% of the country's total water demand exists in areas where aquifers have been overdrawn.

"About 10 years ago, the wells dried up because all the aquifers are now exhausted, and you have acres and acres and acres of pistachio plantations that have become black coal, essentially. The sun has burnt the trees," explained Houchang Chehabi, a Boston University historian specializing in Iranian politics.

And it's not only the pistachios that suffer. Iran no longer has the water resources needed to support the production of its main crops: wheat, barley, rice and corn. 

When aquifers are overdrawn without allowing them to be naturally replenished, the ground slowly sinks. About 3.5% of Iran has experienced this land subsidence, which can lead to damaged roads, buildings and pipelines. 

There's also been a relentless push to build hundreds of dams across the country in recent decades, though over the past 20 years, more than half of the total capacity has remained unfilled. These capital projects disrupt river flow and accelerate evaporation from reservoirs. 

"Oftentimes, those dams were built in places they shouldn't have been built," said Alex Vatanka, who founded the Iran program at​ the Middle East Institute think tank. "The feasible studies weren't done, and they have created ecological damage in lengths and proportions we haven't seen before."  

"Dams that have been built because there was money to be made — the state favored them," he added. 

More than 30 dams were built in northwest Iran on rivers that fed into Lake Urmia, once the Middle East's largest saltwater lake. Now, the lake has almost entirely dried up. 

About one-third of the population now lives in water-stressed areas. Lower crop yields have pushed food prices up, and farmers have been leaving their lands in droves for urban centers, squeezing water resources in cities as well. 

Lack of access to water has sent Iranians to the streets in the past. In 2021, several people were killed and hundreds arrested as part of the "Uprising of the Thirsty" and "water, electricity, life — our absolute rights" has become a rallying cry at protests over the last year. 

Dirty air pollutes Iranian cities 

Nearly 80% of the population of Iran live in urban areas, where the air is heavily polluted. Government figures suggest almost 60,000 people died as a result of toxic air in 2024. That equates to 161 people a day.

Schools and government offices are often shut down on particularly bad air days and Tehran frequently ranks among the most polluted cities in the world.

The vast majority of Tehran's pollution comes from vehicles, which run on low-quality fuels and, experts say, feature outmoded technology.

"Car producers in Iran can produce better cars when it comes to cleaner air, but they get away with it because the market is closed, there is no foreign competition, so they can sell whatever the hell they want," said Vatanka. 

Besides cars, the pollution comes from mazut, an extremely dirty petroleum byproduct, that Iran uses to fuel its power plants in the winter months. 

And the water crisis plays a role, too. As lakes and rivers dry up, wind picks up dangerous dust and sand particles from the exposed beds and carries them across the country. 

Though Tehran is nearly surrounded by mountains, entrapping dirty air, environmental researchers say poor governance is the main driver of pollution. 

"There's nothing in Iranian air that makes it prone to being dirty," Vatanka said. "It's a question of bad policies, not paying attention, being isolated."

Solutions exist, implementation lacks 

Though there are solutions that could improve Iran's environmental woes, Vatanka said there is a lack of political will to implement them. And critics say some workarounds fail to address the root cause of problems. 

They cite regime plans for a pipeline to transport desalinated water from the Persian Gulf to central Iran 800 kilometers (about 500 miles) away, as a case in point. 

Environmental experts are calling on Iran to focus on long-term fixes, such as wastewater recycling. 

"What could be done is to have a crash program in wastewater management to capture some of the wastewater of Tehran and then use it again," Chehabi said. "But under the current situation, that would assume a level of planning, coordination, etc., that just isn't there."

Environmentalists are also calling for agricultural reform to shift away from water-intensive crops and the repair of qanats, an ancient Persian tunnel technology that channels water from aquifers, which are crumbling due to over-pumping. 

'Missed opportunities' for Iran

Though two-thirds of Iran receives sunshine 300 days a year, the country generates less than 4% of its electricity from renewable energy, according to a 2022 International Renewable Energy Agency report. This is despite its largest trading partner, China, leading the world in solar panel production. 

While Iran may possess the third-largest reserves of oil in the world, it often suffers from blackouts and energy shortages due to underinvestment in its grid, old infrastructure and a system of political patronage. 

"The opportunities are immense for Iran, but as long as you don't have a vision and a serious approach to economic development, then you are going to miss opportunities like solar and wind," Vatanka said. "You need focus, you need economic vision, and you don't have that with this regime."

Edited by: Tamsin Walker