Tehran, Iran, Oct. 27
By Mehdi Sepahvand -- Trend:
Some 2,000 birds in a wetland near Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran have died over the past 15 days..
Announcing the news, West Azerbaijan Province Environment Department Director Parviz Arasteh stated that the deaths were not due to bird flu, IRNA news agency reported Oct. 27.
He said the birds were of different kinds, mostly coot, cotton pygmy goose and mountain cock.
He said experts surmise that low precipitation and the flow of domestic and industrial waste into the wetland may lie behind the situation.
Low precipitation and unbridled usage of surface and underground waters has run Iran into a serious water crisis.
Lake Urmia, the biggest inland Iranian lake has shrunk by degrees in the past decades and is facing a critical situation. If the lake dries out completely, serious environmental hazards will threaten the lives of people in the area.
Edited by CN