Temperatures are rising at double the average global rate in Iran – one of the world’s top emitters of greenhouse gases.

The head of Iran’s Meteorological Organization, Sahar Tajbakhsh, revealed the alarming increase on Saturday, adding that rainfall has taken a worrying decline.

Speaking to ISNA, she attributed the higher-than-average climate change to Iran’s geography, such that its north and south are located in mid-latitudes and sub-tropical latitudes respectively.

She said: “The country's annual rainfall patterns have shown a decreasing trend in the last five decades.”

Looking back over the past 30 years, she observed: “This trend has unfortunately led to irreparable environmental and economic-social consequences.”

According to research published by The Lancet journal in April, currently, the number of “deaths due to global warming in the Middle East is 2·1 per 100,000 people”. However, the region “will have experienced substantial warming by the 2060s with the potential to reach the annual heat-related deaths to 123·4 per 100,000 people”.

In Iran’s case, this number is currently 11 deaths per 100,000 people, which is five times the average of the Middle East, but it will reach 423 in the next four decades.

According to the report, the Middle East is one of the most vulnerable parts of the world to global warming and climate change.

The report stated that the number of annual deaths due to global warming in Iran is around 1,703 people meaning six times more than that of Saudi Arabia.

The most important cause of global warming is the emission of greenhouse gases. International statistics, including those of the International Energy Agency and the Global Carbon Project, show that Iran has the highest emission of greenhouse gases in the Middle East and is ranked sixth globally. The situation is unlikely to change with the Islamic Republic mired in economic crisis and failing to invest in renewable energy.