Iran's President Masoud Pezhekian has warned that dams in the capital Tehran could dry up within months if water consumption is not stopped. The Tehran Provincial Water Supply Company also noted that the current water crisis is the worst in a century. According to him, the level of the reservoir that supplies water to the city has fallen to the "lowest level in a century".

"If we don't manage the situation in Tehran, the people of Tehran don't help us and we fail to control consumption, there will be no water left in our dam," President Pezhekian said after an observation tour of the country's northwestern city of Zanjan. He said that according to the Persian calendar, schools open in the first month of autumn by October and the demand for water increases before the start of the rainy season, so the storage of water in the dam may decrease. 

Last month, a region in Iran measured a heat index of 65 degrees Celsius (149 degrees Fahrenheit), making the region the hottest place on earth. Climate change and five years of persistent drought have compounded the water crisis here.

According to an infographic published by Iran's government news agency Irna, only 20 percent of the capacity of the reservoir that serves Tehran with drinking water remains. Nationally, the average reservoir level is only 44 percent. 

The government announced on Monday that several reservoirs that supply Tehran with drinking water are drying up. Officials have warned that Tehran's water supply will run out within a few weeks and urged citizens to reduce water consumption. President Massoud Pezheskian said in the cabinet meeting,  ''The water crisis is more serious than discussed today. If we don't make an immediate decision, there will be a water crisis in the future that we can't solve. This crisis has been caused by Iran's wrong policy in water management for decades, which President Pezheskian has also acknowledged. 

 According to Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian, governor of Tehran Province, only about 14 percent of the water storage capacity is left in the four dams that supply drinking water to the capital. The water pressure has been reduced by the Water and Sewerage Management Company of Tehran Province to the point that high-rise buildings in Tehran, home to a population of 10 million, no longer reach above the second floor.

Officials have asked local residents to install water tanks and pumps and conserve water to deal with supply disruptions. 

Iranian media have questioned the government's focus on domestic water use. The reformist daily Sarg wrote on Sunday, "Approximately 86.5 percent of the country's water resources are consumed in agriculture." Officials have wrongly pointed the finger at domestic consumers, showing the cause of water shortage. Even though the lack of water source has not been formally announced, electricity is cut for at least two hours every day across the country.