IFP Exclusive

Flamingos Return to Shrinking Lake Urmia

Lake Urmia in Iran’s West Azarbaijan province annually plays host to about 10,000 flamingos. However, in the migration seasons this number doubles and more of this species return to their habitat.

As Urmia Lake has been suffering from dryness over the past few years, migratory birds preferred to go to the surrounding rivers and temporary ponds to access more water, but these days witnesses have seen these beautiful birds are returning to the lake as the weather is getting more pleasant.

Flamingos are basically non-migratory birds, but because of changes in the climate and water levels in their habitats, one cannot say their colonies are always permanent.

Lake Urmia has been depleted drastically due to a variety of factors, including the construction of a causeway as well as several dams that have choked off water from the mountains on either side of the lake. The Iranian government is after recovering the lake through water management and environmental restoration.

Earlier, Deputy Head of Iran’s Department of Environment Masoud Baqerzadeh Karimi had announced that the water level of the dying Lake Urmia in north-western Iran has elevated by four centimetres compared with the previous year, adding that currently two-fifth of Lake Urmia’s surface area is covered with water.

A report compiled by the UN Development Plan (UNDP) says human factors, particularly building numerous dams over the rivers flowing into the lake, have further complicated the fate of the largest inland body of water in Iran. However many others maintain that that illegal water wells have played a pivotal role in shrinking Lake Urmia.

What follows are ISNA’s photos of Lake Urmia and the flamingos that are returning to their natural habitat:

IFP Editorial Staff

The IFP Editorial Staff is composed of dozens of skilled journalists, news-writers, and analysts whose works are edited and published by experienced editors specialized in Iran News. The editor of each IFP Service is responsible for the report published by the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website, and can be contacted through the ways mentioned in the "IFP Editorial Staff" section.

Recent Posts

President Pezeshkian lauds Iranian medalists at 2024 Int’l Olympiads

A ceremony was held in Iran’s capital Tehran to honor the Iranian medalists at the…

1 hour ago

NATO states working on Ukraine force deployment: WaPo

Western European leaders are exploring the possibility of deploying troops to Ukraine as part of…

3 hours ago

EU struggles to reach agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine: FT

EU leaders could not reach an agreement on what security guarantees they can offer Ukraine…

3 hours ago

Iran’s presence in Syria changed after fall of Daesh: Spokesman

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei stated that following the fall of Daesh terror group,…

3 hours ago

Most Israelis believe war victory can only be achieved with captives’ return from Gaza: Survey

At least 68 percent of Israelis who took part in a poll did not think…

3 hours ago

Iranian legal expert lambasts internet filtering as ‘unlawful’

A renowned Iranian scholar of law, who has been in headlines in recent years for…

3 hours ago