Environmental and sustainable development specialist Mahammadrza Mahbubfar spoke about the cause of the redness of Lake Urmu:
“Due to the drying up and depletion of Lake Urmia, the color of the lake changes to red in summer. Local environmental activists are concerned about the depletion and discoloration of the lake today.”
West Azerbaijan, located in the north-west of the country, has turned Lake Urmu red for years as it has dried up and its climate and ecological conditions have changed. In those years, the flatness of Lake Urmu also exceeded the fullness, and the proliferation of salt-like bacteria in this aquatic ecosystem also caused discoloration. The lake is still in danger of drying up and running out of water, and if it does, there could be large-scale relocations from villages and towns in western Azerbaijan, especially Urmu.
