The Climate Conditions of Golestan Province Will Become 'Desert' in the Next Fifteen Years

Natural resources experts predict that Golestan Province will become 'desert' in the next 15 years if the current climatic trends and mismanagement by the Islamic Republic officials continue. The water scarcity in this province has 'exceeded the crisis level', and the increase in temperature in Golestan has been unprecedented in the last 80 years. According to ILNA news agency, 98% of the groundwater resources in this province are being 'extracted'. Experts forecast that unless measures are taken to prevent environmental degradation, 300,000 hectares of land in this province, including the counties of Gonbad Kavous, Maraveh Tappeh, Gomishan, and Aq Qala, will soon turn into desert. The director-general of natural resources and watershed management in Golestan Province explained that out of two million hectares of Golestan, 'an area equivalent to one million and 335 thousand hectares is designated as natural resources, of which 452 thousand hectares are Hyrcanian forest'. Hamid Salamat added that 'human factors, the Karakum Desert, and the Balkans of Turkmenistan, along with the drying of wetlands' have significantly contributed to the phenomenon of dust storms and desertification in the province. Previously, due to the water shortage crisis in Iran, water has been cut off or rendered unusable in several cities, and 200 villages in Golestan Province are facing water stress. ILNA has mentioned Golestan Province as one of the provinces experiencing water stress, noting that 46% of the population in this province lives in rural areas. Citing Rahmatollah Noorouzi, a representative of Aliabad Katoul in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the news agency reported that 90% of the water in Golestan Province is used for agriculture. The Global Resources Institute, in a report published in April of this year, identified Iran as one of the 25 countries facing the most severe water scarcity and stress, attributing it to 'decades of poor water management and unsustainable water use for agriculture'. The continuation of drought and the water crisis in Iran comes at a time when heavy rainfall in some areas of the country has caused flooding and extensive damage, resulting in the deaths of dozens of citizens. Protests by residents of the village of Esfidaneh in North Khorasan over the lack of water in the area, the water crisis in Iran; 200 villages in Golestan Province are experiencing 'water stress', reports of poisoning of over 400 people in Rezvanshahr; 'drinking water and sewage' have merged.