Due to the geographical location of Mazandaran, this province extends to the Caspian Sea and the Alborz Mountain Range, and as a result, Mazandaran boasts spectacular scenery in all seasons. These photographs show the forests of Mazandaran in different areas of the province during the fall. -Mostafa Kazemi, ISNA 12/28/21

Few people imagine the existence of rivers and ponds in the heart of deserts. It is interesting to know that among the wonderful world of the Lut desert in Iran, there is a river called "Rud-Shoor" in Persian meaning "salt river". -Pouria Pakizeh, ISNA 12/20/21

A new, grim estimate says Iran's already underdeveloped Sistan-Baluchistan province will have to brace not only for a worsening water crisis but for ripple effects as well, including severe economic and social repercussions. -Al Monitor 12/17/21

In mid-July 2021, a water shortage sparked protests in the southwest province of Khuzestan that then spread to other provinces over the next weeks. How has water escalated as a national issue? What are the long-term political implications? -Kaveh Madani, USIP 12/14/21

Just days after thousands of Iranians took to the streets in Isfahan to protest water policies and the government's inability to address the water shortages, Iranians in an adjacent province took the streets over the same cause. For back-to-back days, hundreds of residents of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province gathered in the provincial capital Khahrekord to protest water scarcity. -Al Monitor 11/23/21

Thousands of farmers in central Iran joined a protest on Friday demanding authorities open a dam to relieve drought-stricken areas, state TV reported. Several prominent actors and athletes have taken part in the peaceful demonstrations in the city of Isfahan, urging the government to intervene to aid famers increasingly suffering from droughts that have worsened over the years. The demonstrations began earlier this month. -AP 11/19/21

At least one person died after two strong earthquakes struck the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan, state TV reported Sunday. State TV quoted Azizollah Konari, the Bandar Abbas governor, as saying a 22-year-old man died when an electric pole fell on his head as a result of the earthquake. -AP 11/15/21

Iran will ratify the landmark Paris agreement on climate change only if sanctions against it are lifted, a senior leader has told the BBC. Ali Salajegheh said sanctions were impeding Iran in areas like renewable energy. Iran is the world's eighth largest CO2 emitter, yet is one of the few countries not to ratify the Paris pact. -BBC 11/11/21

The tentacled butterfly ray hadn't been documented since 1986, but in 2019 Mohsen Rezaie-Atagholipour started finding them hidden as by-catch in Iranian shrimpers' catch. Presumed extinct, scientists were shocked to find the species holding out in the water off Iran. -Priyanka Runwal, Hakai Magazine 11/10/21

Mahlaqa Mallah, known as the "mother of Iran's environment" for dedicating her life to protecting the environment, passed away at the age of 104 on Monday. After studying philosophy, social sciences, and sociology at the University of Tehran, Mallah was awarded an MA in Social Sciences in 1958. In 1966, she moved to Paris to study for a Ph.D. at the University of the Sorbonne, which she graduated from in 1968. During her time in Paris, she also studied librarianship at the National Library of France. 11/9/21

It's like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. The status of Iran's response to climate change depends on the one hand on a conservative government that prioritises its economy over the environment, and on the other an international community that treats the country like a pariah with crippling sanctions imposed for its nuclear programme by the United States. -Sanam Mahoozi, Al Jazeera 11/9/21

This photo album depicts Alvand Mountains slopes which have become colorful in autumn in Hamedan Province, western Iran. It also shows Alangdareh Park, Gorgan, northern Iran. -Adel Bakhoda & Ahmad Riahi Dehkordi, IRNA 11/9/21

The Persian leopard project has been chosen as the winner of the International Facilitation Impact Award (FIA), Arezoo Sane'ei, head of the Persian Leopard Research center, has said. The Persian leopard project from Iran was introduced as the winner of the first level award (Platinum) in terms of the effectiveness of executive methods in terms of quantity and quality and innovation in planning and designing actions with the appropriate benefit of the group process facilitation approach, according to Sane'ei. 11/2/21

The Caspian horse, a small horse breed native to northern Iran, has expanded its fame across the globe and become a symbol of Iran's Gilan Province. The origins of Caspian horse could be traced back to 5,000 years ago; it is considered among the oldest horse breeds in the world. The breed is said to be the ancestor of today's warmblood horses and is dispersed in geographical extend spanning from Behshahr in eastern Mazandaran Province to Talesh in western Gilan Province in northern Iran. -Mojtaba Mohammadi, IRNA 10/26/21

With ochre-stained streams, crimson-hued beaches and enchanting salt caves, Iran's Hormuz Island is a geologist's Disneyland. "You should get a taste of this soil," said Farzad Kay, my tour guide on southern Iran's Hormuz Island, as we stood at the foot of a ruby-red mountain that loomed majestically over the shoreline, engulfing the beach and waves in a crimson shadow. I approached his suggestion with some trepidation, as I was yet to understand this mysterious, mineral-laden landscape. -Misbaah Mansuri, BBC 10/25/21

A rare Iranian eagle found injured and unable to fly six months ago in Iran's Albroz province is now flying free. The director-general of Alborz Environment Department said the Golden Eagle was rehabilitated after it was found. -IFP 10/19/21

The death toll from Cyclone Shaheen rose to 13 on Monday while other fishermen from Iran remained missing as the storm moved further inland into Oman and weakened. In Iran, the state-run IRNA news agency said rescuers found the bodies of two of five fishermen who went missing off Pasabandar, a fishing village near the Islamic Republic's border with Pakistan. -AP 10/4/21

The 2021 water year ends on Sept. 30, and it was another hot, dry year in the western US, with almost the entire region in drought. Reservoirs vital for farms, communities and hydropower have fallen to dangerous lows... Cities and farmers in the Southwest are resorting to unsustainable strategies to pull in more water. Iran has tried many of these strategies and shows how they can go wrong. -Mojtaba Sadegh, et al, PRI 10/1/21

Among the challenges encountered by the Islamic Republic of Iran, climate change looms as one of the most serious, disrupting, and even life-threatening issues facing both rural and urban populations. This threat has worsened at a time when Iran is politically polarized, ideologically fractured, and economically embattled. -Javad Heiran-Nia and Mahmood Monshipouri, Atlantic Council 9/16/21

An Iranian newspaper has quoted a Tehran risk management official as saying that 6-in-10 of the city's buildings don't meet seismic standards and would be heavily damaged if a major earthquake hit. The report in the Hamshahri newspaper quotes city risk management department head Reza Karami-Mohammadi as saying 1-in-5 of Tehran's buildings would be "completely destroyed" in a big earthquake. 9/2/21

The population of Asiatic cheetahs in Iran is less than 40, which means that under the current situation and in the long run, not only is it not possible to maintain the species' population and health but the genetic diversity will be lost and face extinction. -Faranak Bakhtiari, Tehran Times 9/2/21

With a staggering depth of 750 meters Ghar-e Parau, which is situated in western Iran, is one of the deepest known caves in the world. To put that in perspective, imagine almost two Eiffel Tower(s) stacked on top of each other underground! Situated high in the Zagros Mountain range in Kermanshah province, Ghar-e Parau is possibly the best-known Iranian cave outside the country. It was first discovered and explored by the British Speleological Expedition led by John Middleton in 1971. -Tehran Times 8/27/21

The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) started on Tuesday a campaign for the fourth time with the aim of providing sustainable water in four provinces suffering from drought, IRNA reported on Tuesday. The long-standing 20-year-old drought in the region is forcing many to have to provide their water from tank trucks delivering water to the areas. -Tehran Times 8/25/21

Iraq is highly dependent on water resources originating beyond its borders. Like the Diyala, which begins in Zagros mountains in eastern Iran - where it is called the Sirvan - and runs along the border between the two countries before crossing into Iraq to join the Tigris in Baghdad. -DW 8/16/21

From Ancient Egypt to the Persian Empire, an ingenious method of catching the breeze kept people cool for millennia. In the search for emissions-free cooling, the "wind catcher" could once again come to our aid. -imiya Shokoohi, BBC 8/11/21

People living in the villages of Khaf County, located in Razavi Khorasan Province, have faced water shortage due to population growth, low precipitation, and problems in the water supply network. Currently, there is no access to drinking water in some villages, so people have to go to other villages or nearby areas and stand in the queue to get drinking water. -Mohammad Ramezani, ISNA 8/9/21

Iran's water bankruptcy has been in the news lately, prompting deadly protests in Khuzestan province that also garnered the attention of global media. But this kind of problem is neither new or unique in the country. Drying rivers, vanishing lakes, shrinking wetlands, declining groundwater levels, land subsidence, sinkholes, desertification, ... are among the other familiar signs of Iran's environmental devastation. -Kaveh Madani, Guardian 8/6/21

After approximately 20 days of water stress (water scarcity) in Khuzestan Province of Iran, the water release from Karkheh Dam caused a lot of water to flow into the Haur Al-Azim wetland and rivers such as Karkheh River, which were drying up. Drought and severe water shortage caused difficulty for people and farmers in Khuzestan Province and many farm animals died due to water scarcity. -Alireza Mohammadi, ISNA 8/6/21

The Persian onager, also called the Persian wild ass or Persian zebra is a subspecies of onager native to Iran. It is listed as Endangered, with no more than 600 individuals left in the wild and only 30 individuals living within North American institutions. Persian wild asses are known to inhabit mountain steppes, semidesert, or desert plains. They are usually found in desert steppes. Their largest population is found in Khar Turan National Park. -Majid Dehghanizaded, Mehr 8/3/21

Protests in Iran against a range of grievances - including a severe lack of water and power blackouts - have drawn attention to the country's wider water problems. Experts have raised concerns about the situation for many years, so what's to blame for Iran's water crisis? -Jack Goodman, BBC 8/2/21

Pari Rahmanian and her daughters were sitting down to dinner in her brother's third-floor apartment in south Tehran when the ground began to move. "There was just this rumbling sound. I raced to my daughters to get them out. I was sure it was an earthquake," Rahmanian, 47, said. When she got to the hallway she realized what actually was happening: The building was settling in shifting soil. -Omid Khazani & Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times 8/2/21

Instead of providing a sanctuary for rare species, Iran's zoos, aviaries, and wildlife conservation centers have been the sites of repeated instances of animal suffering. Animals at some of these centers have recently been mistreated, burned, stoned, and slaughtered, and those being imported from other regions have suffered high mortality rates. -Yasin Orooji1 & Hassan Karimi-Maleh, Science 7/31/21

Salehiyeh is the only wetland in Alborz Province of Iran. The wetland is fed by surface waters in Qazvin and Alborz provinces, but it is drying up due to drought and intense summer heat. Before drought and when there was high rainfall in the region, Salehiyeh Wetland was home to 120 bird species, including migratory birds. -Masoumeh Aliakbar, ISNA 7/30/21

Years of mismanagement has left Iran facing "irreversible" water shortages that threaten to trigger conflict across the Middle East and North Africa, an exiled former minister has warned. Kaveh Madani, a scientist who served as deputy environment minister, told The Times that Iran was "water bankrupt" - when consumption is greater than renewable water availability - as reservoirs, rivers and groundwater begin to run dry. -The Week, UK 7/29/21

That the wars of the future will be fought over water rather than oil is an adage that feels like an increasingly terrifyingly reality as every year goes by. Especially across the Middle East and North Africa, regions that are on the frontline of the world's climate crises. This year in particular, water has been become a worryingly scarce resource as wars, crumbling infrastructure and, in some instances, unprecedented economic collapse, have led to rolling power outrages that have become disastrous when coupled with record high temperatures. -Bel Trew, Independent 7/27/21

Before losing lots of water due to severe drought, Gavkhouni Wetland, located in Isfahan and Yazd Provinces, was the source of life for the wildlife in the Iranian Plateau for thousands of years. The last time that the water level in the wetland reached capacity was in 1993, but after that Gavkhouni gradually lost water. -Fatemeh Sadeghzadeh 7/21/21

On the first day of summer 2021, an amateur video went viral on social media showing steam coming out of the summit of Damavand volcano. The narration in that video had expressed concern about the possibility and signs of the activation of the Damavand volcano. At the end of that short video, it is stated that "we hope that Damavand volcano will not be activated because it will have dire consequences." -Prof Mehdi Zare, Tehran Times 7/20/21

Torrential rain has triggered flooding in 10 provinces across the country, leaving six dead and two missing so far, Mehdi Valipour, head of Relief and Rescue Organization affiliated to the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), has stated. Some 30 cities in 10 provinces of East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Alborz, Kerman, Fars, Sistan and Baluchestan, Semnan, Mazandaran, Hormozgan and Kurdistan were affected by floods and inundations in the last four days. -Tehran Times 7/19/21

In her MACK-published book Speak the Wind, the Iranian-born, Melbourne-based photographer captures the landscapes, people and rituals of the islands in the Strait of Hormuz -AnOther 7/16/21

The growing water vaporization as well as the increase of salt density in Lake Urmia, located between the Iranian provinces of East Azarbaijan and West Azarbaijan, have created salt crystals on flamingos' wings. Rangers have started work to save the birds in good time. -IRNA 7/15/21

Hana Raza is determined to overcome conflict- and gender-related obstacles to establish a network of protected areas for the endangered big cats. After the Iran-Iraq War, which severely degraded Iraqi nature, Persian leopards were thought to be locally extinct. The war left the country with mountains covered with millions of landmines and many species with vastly depleted numbers. So nobody expected this endangered species to remain in the Zagros Mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. Veronika Perkova, Earth Island Journal 7/13/21

Water inflow into the Iranian dams from the beginning of the current water year (late September 2020) up to July 9, has decreased by 47 percent compared to the previous year's same period, according to the Iran Water Resources Management Company's data. 7/12/21

Iran is on the fast track to severe water scarcity. This semi-arid country, which has stressed the role of agriculture in assuring its economic independence, faces an onslaught of threats to its water supply, including climate change, population growth, mass migration, political instability, and resource mismanagement. -Omid Shokri, Atlantic Council 7/8/21

Decreased rainfall and droughts during this summer have negatively impacted the Haur Al-Azim wetland, located on the border of Iran and Iraq in western Khuzestan Province. The drought has caused many fish and other animals living in the wetland to die as well as creating some problems such as difficulty in providing water for livestock. -Amir Obeidawi. ISNA 7/7/21

People living in Golestan Province suffer from severe water shortages. These photographs show different neighborhoods of the province in which people struggle to get drinking water. Currently, people get drinking water using two water tanks available in the morning and evening. -Hadise Pasandi, ISNA 7/6/21

Iran is ranked among the world's arid countries with its annual precipitation levels at about one-third of the global average. But this year, significantly lower rainfall means the country is experiencing one of its driest years, if not the driest, in several decades. -Sadeq Lavasani, Tehran Times 7/5/21

Marine pollution has plagued the ecosystem for many years, a factor that will soon lead to the extinction of Caspian seals. The Caspian seal, the sole marine mammal inhabiting the Caspian Sea, has faced a sharp decline in population over the past three decades, pushing the species towards extinction, Asghar Abdoli, a faculty member of Shahid Beheshti University for environmental sciences, said. -Faranak Bakhtiari, Tehran Times 6/24/21

Masal is the second highest city of Gilan Province, located in the North of Iran. Northern regions of Iran feature green cities and villages with pristine lands and outstanding beauty that make visitors feel they are in a new world. People living in Masal are of Talish ethnicity and speak in Talyshi Language. The nearby areas of the city also feature breathtaking scenery. -Pouria Pakizeh, ISNA 6/22/21

Since South Khorasan Province has a hot and dry climate, different species of terrestrial birds are found there. The province hosts approximately 180 bird species, both native and migratory. Some birds choose wetlands and mountainous regions of South Khorasan for temporary habitat during different seasons of the year. These photographs show some of the birds found in the province. -Behzad Nakhaei, ISNA 5/24/21

It's their problem today, but it's going to be our problem in the future. People have been relying on groundwater resources for all their drinking and washing needs since time immemorial. But some seem to be depleting fast when faced with today's levels of demand, a new paper reports, explaining more than three-quarters of Iran's groundwater resources are being overexploited. -Alexandru Micu, ZME Science 5/20/21

A 5.5 magnitude earthquake struck the northeastern North Khorasan province on Monday, leaving at least 25 people injured. The earthquake occurred at 3:34 a.m. local time at a depth of 16 kilometers in Sankhast, 70 km southwest of the capital city of Bojnourd, according to the Seismological Center of the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University. 5/18/21

Twenty years ago, geochemist Arash Sharifi began to drill sediment cores in Iran's Lake Urmia-then the largest lake in the Middle East-to probe its recent climate history. "I was shocked at how little was known about the lake," recalls Sharifi, now at Beta Analytic Inc. in Miami. He became entranced by the "very unique chemistry" of its hypersaline waters. He also grew alarmed: Dams on feeder rivers and a proliferation of illegal wells had made the lake, a favorite haunt of flamingos and migratory birds, "vulnerable to hydrological collapse," he wrote in an internal government report. -Richard Stone, Science Magazine 4/30/21

Iran is one of the world's richest in biodiversity, despite the diverse fauna and flora of the country, there are only two endemic species, one of which is the beautiful and rare Persian ground jay. Persian ground jay, the only endemic bird species of Iran, is considered one of the most precious animals of the country's deserts. -Faranak Bakhtiari, Tehran Times 4/29/21

Iranian scientist Kaveh Madani's career was in full bloom as he settled into his seat in early 2018 for a flight home from Bangkok to Tehran. Though raised in the Iranian capital, the civil engineer had left the country at 22 to continue his studies abroad, earning renown for his research into how climate change affects water supplies. About six months earlier, however, the Iranian government had wooed the 36-year-old away from a prestigious professorship in London to a cabinet-level post as deputy environment minister. -Maurice Tamman, Reuters 4/28/21

The mugger crocodile, also called Gando in Iran, is a crocodilian native to freshwater habitats of the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan. The broad-snouted crocodile was also native to the Indian subcontinent, which is extinct in Bhutan and Myanmar and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1982. -Faranak Bakhtiari, Tehran Times 4/28/21

Just before taking a family trip to Iran seven years ago, Sophia Kianni's middle school teacher stunned her with a statistic: By 2030, temperatures in the world's warmest regions are expected to increase by more than twice the global average. When Kianni arrived in Tehran-where her aunts, uncles, and grandma all live-she got an even bigger surprise: Her family had no idea. -Rose Minutaglio, Elle 4/23/21

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake jolted southwestern Bushehr province on Sunday, according to the Iranian Seismological Center. The earthquake struck at 11:11 a.m. local time at a depth of 10 kilometers near the border with Fars province. Five were injured but no fatalities have so far been reported in the aftermath of the quake. 4/19/21

The greenness and beauties of spring in Iran's Mazandaran Province. Mazandaran is located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range, in central-northern Iran.-Ehsan Fazli-Osanlu, IRNA 3/24/21

Last month the Embassy of Japan in Tehran hosted a ceremony where two memorandums of understanding were signed new grants to support projects carried out by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Iran. -Bourse & Bazaar 3/23/21

The national plan for transferring water from the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman to seven provinces situated in the semi-arid central plateau will be completed by 2025, aiming to save underground water resources while flourishing industries and agriculture in the region. -Mehdi Garshasbi 3/15/21

The Friendship Tree Planting Ceremony was held in Behesht Madaran Park on Wednesday afternoon with participation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Mayor of Tehran Pirouz Hanachi, and the spouses of foreign diplomats residing in Tehran. -Mona Hoobehfekr 3/11/21

Israeli authorities said Wednesday that a Libyan-owned tanker suspected of smuggling oil from Iran to Syria was responsible for spilling tons of crude into the eastern Mediterranean last month, causing one of Israel's worst environmental disasters. Over 90% of Israel's 195 kilometer (120-mile) Mediterranean coastline was covered in more than 1,000 tons of black tar, the result of the mysterious oil spill in international waters. -AP 3/4/21

Although Asaluyeh city, located in Bushehr Province of Iran, is known for its natural gas refineries at the South Pars gas field, it also boasts beautiful tourist destinations. Bonud beach is a tourist destination in Asaluyeh, one of the most pristine areas of Iran. -Parisa Jofrei, ISNA 3/1/21

Some 10,000 bodies of lifeless migratory birds that died as a result of botulism poisoning have been found so far around the Miankaleh peninsula and Gorgan Bay, located in the extreme south-eastern part of the Caspian Sea. Botulism disease, which for the second consecutive year has caused the death of a large number of migratory birds in Miankaleh and Gorgan Bay, has reached Ashuradeh Island 2/24/21

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 shook southwest Iran near the town of Sisakht late on February 17, with at least 40 people injured, Iranian media reported. Iranian state TV quoted an official in the region as saying, "People in Sisakht and the town of Yasuj left their homes in panic. Water and electricity have been cut off in Sisakht." 2/18/21

Meighan Wetland in Markazi province is one of the most important wetlands in Iran, and its diverse wildlife and desert nature have given a special effect to this wetland. -Behnam Yousefi, Mehr 2/17/21

It has been two weeks since the mysterious deaths of migratory birds in the Miankaleh Peninsula, located in Mazandaran province. Many experts believe that the tragedy occurred due to the presence of avian botulism in water, but the root cause has not been identified yet. -Mostafa Shanechi, ISNA 2/16/21

President Joe Biden has been elected on a promise, among others, to move the United States towards an ambitious new climate agenda - a feat that will require a radical transformation of thinking and practices across all areas of American policymaking. -Shirin Hakim & Barney Bartlett, Al Jazeera 2/15/21

The southern Iranian port city of Bandar Khamir, which has recently joined the UNESCO Network of Learning Cities, seeks to be a sustainable travel destination. Situated in Hormozgan province and bounded by the Persian Gulf, Bandar Khamir is the only city located on the coasts of the Khorkhoran Wetland, one of the largest and most important marine environments in Iran. 2/12/21

An encyclopedia of herbs and medicinal plants endemic to Iran was unveiled in a ceremony on Wednesday. In this line, data related to 7,400 different plants in the fields of botany and ecology, pharmaceutical plants, and edible plants have been gathered in the encyclopedia along with some 9,000 pictures, ISNA reported. 2/11/21

Up to 90 percent of coral reefs in Chabahar waters along the Sea of Oman have been bleached and are dying, an official with the Department of Environment has said. A rise in temperature of the water has had a negative effect on the ecosystem so that 90 percent of coral reefs in this region have been bleached and are dying, IRNA quoted Davood Mirshekar, deputy chief of the Department of Environment for marine ecosystems, as saying on Wednesday. 2/5/21

Seven Iranian companies and technology groups have joined the United Nations Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN). The CTCN is the operational arm of the UNFCCC Technology Mechanism, hosted by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). 1/25/21

Iran's capital and major cities plunged into darkness in recent weeks as rolling outages left millions without electricity for hours. Traffic lights died. Offices went dark. Online classes stopped. With toxic smog blanketing Tehran skies and the country buckling under the pandemic and other mounting crises, social media has been rife with speculation. Soon, fingers pointed at an unlikely culprit: Bitcoin. -AP 1/22/21

For nearly a month, residents of the Iranian capital have been exposed to record-high air pollution amid the government's confusing explanations and failure to work out a solution. -Al Monitor 1/15/21

Cities across Iran have been cloaked in thick layers of toxic smog and darkened by blackouts, as the alleged use of low-quality fuel and power-sucking cryptocurrency mining deepen the country's hardships. Tehran's Hamshahri newspaper, the country's most-read daily, ran the headline, "20 Days Living in Smoke," on Wednesday over a photo of the capital covered in smog. -Golnar Motevalli and Arsalan Shahla, Bloomberg 1/13/21