If you’re looking for a temperature check on the state of the planet’s ecological decline, this is it.

On Thursday, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian went on the record to announce that the country “no longer has a choice,” and must move its capital city to another location. Home to nine million people, and with over 15 million in the surrounding metro area, the current capital of Tehran is the third most populated city in the Middle East, and the twenty-third largest in the world.

For decades, Tehran has faced an oncoming water shortage, brought on by environmental changes, industrial agriculture, and unsustainable population growth. Today, it seems the crisis is here to stay, as millions face dry taps among the region’s sixth consecutive year of drought — now its hottest summer in 60

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