TEHRAN - The most detrimental effect of climate change in Iran has been the reduction of freshwater resources.

On October 24, the International Day Against Climate Change is celebrated.

The Day constitutes a global platform for climate action from all its perspectives, focusing on the establishment of strong policies, severe changes in the production model, effective technological developments, and, above all, creating climate awareness.

Many provinces of the country are facing water stress and some provinces have even reached the threshold of water crisis.

Currently 'climate change' is known as the most important environmental phenomenon that demands the rise of awareness among people.

In recent years, the issue of climate change has even become one of the major political issues of the world so the United Nations and many other governments have gotten involved in this issue.

Also, many conferences have been held globally focusing on climate change, such as the Conference of the Parties (COP) World Summit, the Group of Seven (G7) forum, and the United Nations General Assembly, which have all stressed and discussed the issues related to climate change.

Thanks to the climate change, the air temperature has increased. Warmer temperature increases the rate of evaporation, a good example of which is the Caspian Sea's reduced volume of water.

The statistics of the Meteorological Organization show that in the last 50 years, the average air temperature of Iran has increased by about 2 degrees Celsius. In other words, the average air temperature of our country has increased by 0.4 degrees in every decade.

The important point is that the average minimum temperature increase has been higher than the average maximum temperature in the last five decades.

On the other hand, there has been a noticeable decrease in the amount of snowfall in the country and a change in the pattern of precipitation from snow to rain can be seen. But the total amount of rainfall has decreased as well.

One of the consequences of this problem is the drying up of wetlands and rivers in the country in recent years.

No allocation of water rights and mismanagement of water sources can be introduced as the main causes of drying wetlands.

However, it cannot be denied that climate change has played an important role in aggravating and accelerating this phenomenon. 

Therefore, climate change and the lack of water rights both have caused most importantly, Lake Urmia, the country's largest inland water area, to come close to drying up.

Climate change has already inserted many harmful effects on our country, and if we do not take steps to adapt ourselves to the consequences of this phenomenon and observe environmental principles, in the future, more dangerous consequences will surely plague Iran and make the conditions more unfavorable for human, animal, and plant species.

The senior policymakers of the country should pay serious attention to the issues related to climate change and plan to comply with the principles of sustainable development.

Unless action is taken soon, the adverse effects of climate change will continue to worsen in the future, particularly resulting in scarcity of freshwater.