Lake Urmia dries up: Environmental disaster and a growing crisis for Iran’s Azerbaijani population

Lake Urmia, once one of the world’s largest saline lakes and the biggest saltwater body in the Middle East, has completely dried up. The development marks a dramatic escalation of one of Iran’s most serious environmental disasters, with far-reaching ecological, economic, and political consequences.

Officials had previously warned that the lake could disappear entirely by the end of summer if restoration efforts failed. Prolonged drought, rising temperatures, and chronic water mismanagement have prevented any meaningful recovery.

TL;DR – in 5 points:

1. Lake Urmia has completely dried up, marking one of Iran’s worst environmental disasters after decades of drought, climate change, and water mismanagement.
2. The ecological collapse is severe, with wildlife habitats destroyed, tourism vanished, and agriculture and public health under growing threat.
3. International actors (FAO, UNDP, Japan) are supporting recovery efforts focused on water efficiency and climate-smart agriculture, but progress is limited.
4. The crisis has a strong ethnic dimension, as Iran’s Azerbaijani population increasingly views the lake’s disappearance as evidence of discrimination and neglect by Tehran.
5. Rising protests and tensions show how water scarcity has become a political and social flashpoint, threatening long-term stability in north-western Iran.

From ecological treasure to salt desert

Located in Iran’s West Azerbaijan Province, Lake Urmia was historically a vital ecosystem and a regional tourism magnet. It hosted large populations of migratory birds such as flamingos, pelicans, ducks, and egrets, and supported one of the world’s largest natural habitats of Artemia brine shrimp—an extremophile species capable of surviving salinity levels exceeding 340 grams per litre, more than eight times saltier than ocean water.

With the lake now fully desiccated, this delicate food web has collapsed. What was once a vast body of water has turned into a salt-white, barren plain, increasingly associated with dust storms, soil salinisation, and long-term health risks for surrounding communities.

The human impact is equally severe. Tourism has effectively vanished, local agriculture is under pressure, and livelihoods once dependent on the lake’s ecosystem are disappearing.

To better understand from a Hungarian perspective, the original size of Lake Urmia (about 5000-6000 km²) was about 8-10 times the size of Lake Balaton in Hungary, which has an area of 600 km². However, Lake Urmia has now shrunk by 95% and is now smaller than the “Hungarian Sea”, only about 300-500 km².

FAO and international efforts to halt the collapse

In response to the worsening crisis, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), together with the United Nations Development Programme, has stepped up cooperation with Iranian authorities, Teheran Times said.

Speaking at a recent workshop in the Lake Urmia Basin, Farrukh Toirov, FAO Representative in Iran, stressed that water efficiency and sustainable agriculture are critical to any recovery effort.

“We have brought together some of the most experienced experts so that this project can advance on a strong foundation, guided by scientific knowledge and informed by local realities,” Toirov said, according to an FAO press release dated December 4.

He underlined that Iran’s agricultural sector faces highly diverse agro-ecological conditions and warned against one-size-fits-all solutions. While large farms may afford advanced irrigation technologies, many small and medium farmers cannot, making simple, affordable, and scalable solutions essential.

FAO reaffirmed its commitment to working with national institutions, research centres, and local experts, praising Iran’s scientific capacity while emphasising the need for inclusive implementation.

Japanese-backed cooperation agreement

In October, with financial support from the Japan, FAO and UNDP signed a cooperation agreement aimed at helping revive Lake Urmia. The signing took place during President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to West Azerbaijan.

The document was signed by Reza Rahmani, Secretary of the Urmia Lake Rescue National Committee, and Ali Nazaridoust, acting on behalf of FAO. The project focuses on integrated water resource management, climate-smart agriculture, and improved irrigation efficiency across the Urmia Lake Basin.

A political fault line: Azerbaijani grievances

Beyond its environmental dimension, Lake Urmia’s disappearance has become a highly charged political issue among Iran’s Azerbaijani population. An estimated 25–30 million ethnic Azerbaijanis, concentrated in East and West Azerbaijan provinces, increasingly view the lake’s drying up as a symbol of ethnic discrimination by Tehran’s Persian-dominated central government.

Activists argue that poor water governance, extensive dam construction, agricultural overuse, and water diversion to central Iranian provinces have shrunk the lake by more than 95% over the past decades. Many describe the process as “ecocide”, accusing authorities of deliberate neglect aimed at forcing migration, desertification, and long-term demographic weakening of Azerbaijani-inhabited regions.

Protests, nationalism, and rising tensions

Mass demonstrations linked to Lake Urmia began as early as 2011 in cities such as Urmia and Tabriz, and resurfaced in 2022 and again in 2025. Protesters accused Tehran of ignoring Azerbaijani regions while prioritising costly water-transfer projects elsewhere, including from the Persian Gulf.

Authorities have repeatedly framed the protests as security threats, leading to arrests and further fuelling ethnic nationalism. In 2025, clashes between football fans in Urmia reportedly escalated into ethnic tensions between Azerbaijanis and Kurds, underscoring how water scarcity has become a broader social flashpoint.

Another issue: River Araz

A similar problem in the region is that, according to the Azerbaijani side, the Armenian Kajaran mine (Zangezur copper-pyrite mine) releases tons of poison into the Araz every year, causing fish kills, drinking water pollution and agricultural damage in Azerbaijan (e.g. Nakhchivan).An international investigation has been called for since 2022, but Armenia denies the extent.Recent developments

In 2025, a water quality agreement was reached as part of peace talks (Trump-mediated), but the Azeri side says pollution continues. This is fuelling ethnic and political tensions, similar to the Lake Urmia crisis.

An uncertain future

The complete drying up of Lake Urmia represents not only an environmental catastrophe, but also a test of governance, equity, and stability in north-western Iran. While international cooperation and technical solutions offer a narrow window of hope, many locals fear that without fundamental changes in water management and regional policy priorities, restoration efforts may come too late.

For millions living in the Urmia Lake Basin, the disappearance of the lake is no longer a warning—it is a lived reality with lasting consequences.

The case of Lake Urmia shows how important it is to protect our waters. The drying up of Lake Balaton on this scale would cause a huge economic and social problem in Hungary.

Read more news about Azerbaijan.

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