Salt Storms on Lake Urmia

The Rahmanlou Port sits on the dried-up shores of southeast Lake Urmia, 10km from the city of Ajabshir in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. It was once one of the most beautiful sights on the giant salt lake, which has lost nearly 95 percent of its volume in the last two decades.

Now, whenever the wind blows, a flurry of lakebed dust is carried to the villages close to Ajabshir, blanketing the houses and putting locals’ health in jeopardy. According to experts, salt and dust from Lake Urmia’s shores can be blown up to 500km away.

The severity of the crisis has seen environmental scientists from all over the world, including the US, collaborate with Iranian officials in a bid to turn the tide. Restoring Lake Urmia was among the promises of the Hassan Rouhani administration that in the end, went unfulfilled.

Pictures: Ali Hamed Haghdoust for Fars News Agency