Climate change in Iran is leading to an increase in average annual temperatures and a decrease in annual precipitation.

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

is the largest greenhouse gas emitter not to have ratified the

Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (french: Accord de Paris), often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change. Adopted in 2015, the agreement covers climate change mitigation, Climate change a ...

. The country is experiencing a greater frequency of flooding and extended periods of

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

due to

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. Climate change also has implications for

water scarcity Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water Water resources, resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity: physical or economic water scarcity. Physical water ...

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and

human health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

in Iran.

Greenhouse gas emissions

Iran is the largest greenhouse gas emitter not to have ratified the

. It is the world's sixth largest emitter, and relies heavily on its

petroleum industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The larges ...

. Iran was estimated to emit 700 megatonnes of in 2019, about 8 and a half tonnes per person, which was 1.85% of the world total. From 2009 to 2019, Iran's emissions rise from 11.97 million tons to 24.12 million tons. Over 5 megatons of methane was emitted in 2020, which was over 7% of the world total. From 2008 to 2018, Iran's methane emissions rose from 136,920 kilotons to 149,690 kilotons.

Impacts

Climate change expected to lead to a 2.6°C increase in temperatures and 35% decrease in precipitation in Iran during the 21st century.

Climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

is also expected to lead to extended periods of

and increased frequency of flooding. Much of Iran's territory suffers from overgrazing,

desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...

and

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

. Industrial and urban wastewater runoff has contaminated rivers, coastal and underground waters.

Water supplies Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

will be affected by climate change, as well as

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

and coastal zones. Lake Urmia has shrunk in recent decades, in part due to climate change, which has contributed to

. Climate change also poses implications for

health in Iran As for many developing countries, health issues in Iran stem from a variety of reasons: namely, water and sanitation, diet and fitness, various addictions, mental fitness, communicable diseases, hygiene and the environment. The Human Rights Me ...

Mitigation and adaptation

Other countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have begun implementing responses to climate change in the region, but the

government of Iran The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, نظام جمهوری اسلامی ایران, Neẓām-e jomhūrī-e eslāmi-e Irān, known simply as ''Neẓām'' ( fa, نظام, lit=the system) among its supporters) is the ruling state a ...

have not implemented

mitigation Mitigation is the reduction of something harmful or the reduction of its harmful effects. It may refer to measures taken to reduce the harmful effects of hazards that remain ''in potentia'', or to manage harmful incidents that have already occur ...

policies to date. At

COP26 The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP26, was the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, held at the SEC Centre in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, from 31 October to 13 November 2021. The ...

, Iranian delegate

Ali Salajegheh Ali Salajegheh ( fa, علی سلاجقه; born 1967 in Rabor, Iran), is the Vice President of Iran and Head of Iran's Department of Environment in the 13th government. He was previously Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Head of the Forests and ...

said the country would only ratify the Paris Agreement if sanctions against Iran were lifted.

References

External links

Iran Summary
at

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

Climate Change Knowledge Portal
Carbon Brief Profile: Iran
{{Iran topics

Greenhouse gas emissions

Impacts

Mitigation and adaptation

See also

References

External links