An official of Iran’s energy ministry says that more than 30 million Iranians faced drinking water shortages last summer.

Iran has a population of 82 million and this figure would constitute more than 30 percent of all inhabitants.

Banafsheh Zahrayi who is charge of an energy ministry project to deal with water shortages told a conference on December 25 that water shortage in Iran is mainly due to climate change, as precipitation has become more irregular. Warmer weather has also increased irrigation needs.

As Iran suffers from years of drought, the government has also been accused of lack of water management, leading to abuse of underground reserves for agricultural needs.

Zahrayi told “Iran and Challenge of 2020”, a conference about water shortage. That if in past years the concern was water for agriculture, now the problem is foremost drinking water.

Farmers in Iran held many noisy protests in Iran in 2018, as scarce water is often redirected from one region to another.