The impoverished Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchistan is also one of the hardest hit by drought. The winds and the dust storms that sometimes blow at 108 km per hour have wreaked havoc on people’s health, livelihood and social life.

It has been 20 years since Hamun lake and wetlands started to dry up, contributing to a disastrous climate change with serious social, economic and political consequences both for Iran and Afghanistan. Most of the sand dunes and rolling sands are found in the Hirmand area on the border with Afghanistan.

The photos above were taken in Zabol on Iran’s border with Afghanistan.

Photographs by Hamid Gholami, Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)