February 2, 2024
The photo above is the latest instance of land subsidence in Tehran, about 200 square meters (2,000 square feet) of Kargar Street
near Qazvin Square that sank January 9. The photo is an even more dramatic case from a few years ago. Land subsidence in Iran is five times the global average, according to the head of Iran’s National Cartographic Center, Ali Javidaneh.
He says land in Iran sinks at an annual average of 15 centimeters, versus the global average of 3 centimeters. The chief cause of such land
subsidence is the excessive extraction of water from underground. Such a loss is virtually irreversible.
