Iran’s Triple Crisis: Adapting to Power, Water Outages, and Record Heat – Iran power water outages heatwave
Tehran, Iran – Every morning at 6 am, Sara reaches for her phone – not to check messages, but to see when the day’s blackout will begin. The 44-year-old digital marketer in Tehran has memorized the weekly electricity schedule yet still checks her phone each morning for last-minute changes as she plans her life around the two-hour power cuts.
Crisis
For millions of Iranians, this summer has brought survival challenges in light of record-breaking heat, chronic energy deficits, and unprecedented temperatures, exposing the fragility of basic services. The country is grappling with its fifth consecutive year of drought, with rainfall down 40 percent during the current water year.
Survival
Twenty-six-year-old Fatemeh moved to Tehran from Andisheh, facing daily crisis management due to unannounced water cuts and extreme temperatures. She has developed a survival routine, storing water and using innovative methods to cope with the outages.
Ripple Effect
The infrastructure crisis extends beyond household inconveniences, impacting offices, retail shops, and small businesses. Economic repercussions such as layoffs and spoiled goods are becoming more prevalent, with remote work becoming challenging due to power and internet connectivity issues.
Uncertainty
Citizens like Sara and Fatemeh continue to adapt to the new reality, navigating uncertainty around essential services. As Iran faces unresolved water and energy deficits, the infrastructure crisis has become a defining feature of modern Iranian life, moving beyond temporary inconvenience to a longstanding challenge.
This story was published in collaboration with Egab.
Source: Al Jazeera