A demonstrator was shot dead during&nbsp;protests&nbsp;against&nbsp;water&nbsp;shortages in drought-hit Khuzestan in southwestern&nbsp;Iran,&nbsp;state&nbsp;media&nbsp;reported Saturday, with an official blaming the death on "opportunists and rioters".

The demonstrator was&nbsp;killed&nbsp;in the Khuzestan province town of Shadegan, the official IRNA news agency said.

The province is&nbsp;Iran's main oil-producing region and one of its wealthiest, but it has been hit by a persistent drought that has led to tensions since late March.

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"Last night (Friday), a number of Shadegan's people had gathered to protest&nbsp;water&nbsp;shortages due to the drought, during which opportunists and rioters shot dead one of the demonstrators," the county's acting governor, Omid Sabripour, told IRNA.

Sabripour said the perpetrators "sought to agitate the people by shooting in the air", and a "young Shadegan resident" was shot in the process.

In separate comments to the ISNA news agency, Sabripour said&nbsp;the shooting was directed at both the demonstrators and security forces.

He added that the victim was a "30-year-old passer-by" and that those responsible were identified.

Some were arrested on Friday night, with a manhunt launched for the others.

Iran&nbsp;has endured repeated droughts over the past&nbsp;decade, particularly in the south.

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Earlier this month, President Hassan Rouhani said the drought was "unprecedented", with average rainfall down 52 per cent compared to the previous year.

The Islamic republic has also experienced regular floods in recent years, made worse when torrential rain falls on sun-baked earth.

In other parts of the country, floods over the past three days have&nbsp;killed&nbsp;at least four people, with two others missing, Iranian Red Crescent Society spokesman Mohammad-Hassan Qosian told IRNA on Saturday.

Another person was&nbsp;killed&nbsp;by lightning.

'Insecurity'&nbsp;

Khuzestan's governor on Friday dismissed videos of&nbsp;protests&nbsp;as false.

"Some seek to agitate the people and publish fake videos," Qasem Soleimani-Dashtaki told IRNA.

Videos on social&nbsp;media&nbsp;apparently showed&nbsp;protests&nbsp;in several Khuzestan towns, including Susangerd, Mahshahr and Hamidiyeh as well as Shadegan.

Farsi-language&nbsp;media&nbsp;based abroad said security forces had cracked down on protesters demonstrating against severe&nbsp;water&nbsp;shortages&nbsp;on Thursday, but domestic&nbsp;media&nbsp;played down the reports.

Khuzestan MP Abdollah Izadpanah warned on Friday that "Khuzestan's insecurity means a lack of security for the whole country."

He blamed the&nbsp;water&nbsp;shortages on "mistakes and unjustified decisions" such as the extraction of&nbsp;water&nbsp;from Khuzestan's rivers to other provinces, ISNA reported.

On Friday, the government sent a delegation to Khuzestan to address the problem.

This month, rolling blackouts began in the capital Tehran and several other large cities, which officials blamed on the impact of the drought on hydroelectric power generation, as well as surging demand.

Power cuts in the peak summer months are not uncommon in&nbsp;Iran, but the ongoing drought has intensified the situation.

Khuzestan is home to a largely Sunni Arab minority, which has frequently complained of marginalisation in mainly Shiite&nbsp;Iran.

In 2019, the province was a hotspot of anti-government&nbsp;protests&nbsp;that had shaken other areas of the Islamic republic.

Over the years, blistering summer heatwaves and seasonal sandstorms blowing in from Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Iraq have dried up Khuzestan's once-fertile plains.

Scientists say climate change amplifies droughts, and their intensity and frequency, in turn, threaten food security.

A demonstrator was shot dead during protests against water shortages in drought-hit Khuzestan in southwestern Iran, state media reported Saturday, with an official blaming the death on "opportunists and rioters".

A demonstrator was shot dead during protests against water shortages in drought-hit Khuzestan in southwestern Iran, state media reported Saturday, with an official blaming the death on "opportunists and rioters". The demonstrator was killed in the Khuzestan province town of Shadegan, the official IRNA news agency said. The province is Iran's main oil-producing region and one of its wealthiest, but it has been hit by a persistent drought that has led to tensions since late March. Also read | Iran President Hassan Rouhani issues rare apology for power cuts "Last night (Friday), a number of Shadegan's people had gathered to protest water shortages due to the drought, during which opportunists and rioters shot dead one of the demonstrators," the county's acting governor, Omid Sabripour, told IRNA. Sabripour said the perpetrators "sought to agitate the people by shooting in the air", and a "young Shadegan resident" was shot in the process. In separate comments to the ISNA news agency, Sabripour said the shooting was directed at both the demonstrators and security forces. He added that the victim was a "30-year-old passer-by" and that those responsible were identified. Some were arrested on Friday night, with a manhunt launched for the others. Iran has endured repeated droughts over the past decade, particularly in the south. Also read | Iran detects 'technical fault' in Bushehr nuclear power plant Earlier this month, President Hassan Rouhani said the drought was "unprecedented", with average rainfall down 52 per cent compared to the previous year. The Islamic republic has also experienced regular floods in recent years, made worse when torrential rain falls on sun-baked earth. In other parts of the country, floods over the past three days have killed at least four people, with two others missing, Iranian Red Crescent Society spokesman Mohammad-Hassan Qosian told IRNA on Saturday. Another person was killed by lightning. 'Insecurity' Khuzestan's governor on Friday dismissed videos of protests as false. "Some seek to agitate the people and publish fake videos," Qasem Soleimani-Dashtaki told IRNA. Videos on social media apparently showed protests in several Khuzestan towns, including Susangerd, Mahshahr and Hamidiyeh as well as Shadegan. Farsi-language media based abroad said security forces had cracked down on protesters demonstrating against severe water shortages on Thursday, but domestic media played down the reports. Khuzestan MP Abdollah Izadpanah warned on Friday that "Khuzestan's insecurity means a lack of security for the whole country." He blamed the water shortages on "mistakes and unjustified decisions" such as the extraction of water from Khuzestan's rivers to other provinces, ISNA reported. On Friday, the government sent a delegation to Khuzestan to address the problem. This month, rolling blackouts began in the capital Tehran and several other large cities, which officials blamed on the impact of the drought on hydroelectric power generation, as well as surging demand. Power cuts in the peak summer months are not uncommon in Iran, but the ongoing drought has intensified the situation. Khuzestan is home to a largely Sunni Arab minority, which has frequently complained of marginalisation in mainly Shiite Iran. In 2019, the province was a hotspot of anti-government protests that had shaken other areas of the Islamic republic. Over the years, blistering summer heatwaves and seasonal sandstorms blowing in from Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Iraq have dried up Khuzestan's once-fertile plains. Scientists say climate change amplifies droughts, and their intensity and frequency, in turn, threaten food security.

One shot dead in Iran water shortage protests: State media

Around 3.2 billion people across the world live in agricultural areas with high or very high water shortages or scarcity, of whom 1.2 billion people live in areas with very high water constraints, according to data from a report.

A report titled 'The State of Food and Agriculture 2020:Overcoming water challenges in agriculture' by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations published on Thursday shows&nbsp;fresh water available for each person has plunged by a fifth over two decades.

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About 1.5 billion individuals are enduring serious water shortage or even dry spell, as a blend of atmosphere breakdown, rising interest and helpless administration has made horticulture progressively troublesome across wraps of the globe.&nbsp;

The UN cautioned on Thursday that billions of individuals would confront hunger and broad ongoing food deficiencies because of disappointments to save water assets, and to handle the atmosphere emergency.&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/wion-gravitas-water-shortage-in-major-cities-8317/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Qu Dongyu, chief general of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), stated: "We should pay attention to exceptionally both water shortage (the irregularity among gracefully and interest for freshwater assets) and water deficiencies (reflected in deficient precipitation designs) for they are presently the truth we as a whole live with … Water deficiencies and shortage in farming must be tended to quickly and intensely."&nbsp;

He said that the UN's reasonable advancement objectives, which incorporate clearing out yearning and improving admittance to clean water, were still close enough however substantially more should have been done to improve cultivating rehearses the world over and to oversee assets impartially.&nbsp;

The association's State of Food and Agriculture 2020 report found that 50 million individuals in sub-Saharan Africa live in territories where serious dry season effects affects cropland and pastureland once at regular intervals. In excess of a tenth of the world's rainfed cropland is liable to visit dry spell, as is about 14% of the world's pastureland.&nbsp;

Rainfed agribusiness speaks to 60% of worldwide harvest creation, and 80% of land under development, with the rest profiting by water system. Notwithstanding, water system is no panacea: over 60% of inundated cropland around the globe is profoundly water pushed. Water system of some unacceptable kind can squander water, exhausting non-inexhaustible assets, for example, underground springs, and helpless administration can bring about certain ranchers missing out on water assets – for example, on account of downstream homesteads, if streams and streams are shown dry to upstream water system.&nbsp;

Little scope and rancher drove water system frameworks are regularly more effective than enormous scope extends, the report found. Enormous scope state-supported plans in Asia, for example, have depended on taking advantage of groundwater, squeezing that asset. However, little scope ranchers around the globe face additional troubles, for example, an absence of secure residency over water rights, and little admittance to fund and credit.&nbsp;

Separate exploration has as of late indicated that the world's farmland is progressively being amassed in less hands, with enormous organizations and global proprietors assuming control over wraps of creation, while little ranchers – whose homesteads are frequently run along more earth supportable lines – are progressively being pushed out. About 1% of the world's homesteads work 70% of the universes' farmland.&nbsp;

Food creation must change to lessen ozone harming substance emanations and attempt to fight off atmosphere breakdown, however even this isn't clear, the FAO cautioned. "As the world expects to move to solid eating regimens – regularly made out of moderately water-serious nourishments, for example, vegetables, nuts, poultry and dairy items – the economical utilization of water assets will be perpetually significant," said Qu, previous bad habit priest of horticulture and country issues in China. "Rainfed farming gives the biggest portion of worldwide food creation. In any case, for it to keep on doing as such, we should improve how we oversee water assets from restricted precipitation."&nbsp;

The current year's FAO report centered around water, however a significant part of the association's work this year has been to attempt to stem the potential for the Covid pandemic to offer ascent to inescapable food deficiencies. The association approached governments recently to keep worldwide gracefully chains and food markets open, regardless of the movement limitations coming about because of the pandemic, and these calls appear to have generally been noticed.&nbsp;

The world's reaps this year have commonly been acceptable, with certain special cases, yet a few territories of Africa are as yet under danger of extreme food issues.

&nbsp;

Around 3.2 billion people across the world live in agricultural areas with high or very high water shortages or scarcity, of whom 1.2 billion people live in areas with very high water constraints, according to data from a report.

Around 3.2 billion people across the world live in agricultural areas with high or very high water shortages or scarcity, of whom 1.2 billion people live in areas with very high water constraints, according to data from a report. A report titled 'The State of Food and Agriculture 2020:Overcoming water challenges in agriculture' by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations published on Thursday shows fresh water available for each person has plunged by a fifth over two decades. About 1.5 billion individuals are enduring serious water shortage or even dry spell, as a blend of atmosphere breakdown, rising interest and helpless administration has made horticulture progressively troublesome across wraps of the globe. The UN cautioned on Thursday that billions of individuals would confront hunger and broad ongoing food deficiencies because of disappointments to save water assets, and to handle the atmosphere emergency. Qu Dongyu, chief general of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), stated: "We should pay attention to exceptionally both water shortage (the irregularity among gracefully and interest for freshwater assets) and water deficiencies (reflected in deficient precipitation designs) for they are presently the truth we as a whole live with … Water deficiencies and shortage in farming must be tended to quickly and intensely." He said that the UN's reasonable advancement objectives, which incorporate clearing out yearning and improving admittance to clean water, were still close enough however substantially more should have been done to improve cultivating rehearses the world over and to oversee assets impartially. The association's State of Food and Agriculture 2020 report found that 50 million individuals in sub-Saharan Africa live in territories where serious dry season effects affects cropland and pastureland once at regular intervals. In excess of a tenth of the world's rainfed cropland is liable to visit dry spell, as is about 14% of the world's pastureland. Rainfed agribusiness speaks to 60% of worldwide harvest creation, and 80% of land under development, with the rest profiting by water system. Notwithstanding, water system is no panacea: over 60% of inundated cropland around the globe is profoundly water pushed. Water system of some unacceptable kind can squander water, exhausting non-inexhaustible assets, for example, underground springs, and helpless administration can bring about certain ranchers missing out on water assets – for example, on account of downstream homesteads, if streams and streams are shown dry to upstream water system. Little scope and rancher drove water system frameworks are regularly more effective than enormous scope extends, the report found. Enormous scope state-supported plans in Asia, for example, have depended on taking advantage of groundwater, squeezing that asset. However, little scope ranchers around the globe face additional troubles, for example, an absence of secure residency over water rights, and little admittance to fund and credit. Separate exploration has as of late indicated that the world's farmland is progressively being amassed in less hands, with enormous organizations and global proprietors assuming control over wraps of creation, while little ranchers – whose homesteads are frequently run along more earth supportable lines – are progressively being pushed out. About 1% of the world's homesteads work 70% of the universes' farmland. Food creation must change to lessen ozone harming substance emanations and attempt to fight off atmosphere breakdown, however even this isn't clear, the FAO cautioned. "As the world expects to move to solid eating regimens – regularly made out of moderately water-serious nourishments, for example, vegetables, nuts, poultry and dairy items – the economical utilization of water assets will be perpetually significant," said Qu, previous bad habit priest of horticulture and country issues in China. "Rainfed farming gives the biggest portion of worldwide food creation. In any case, for it to keep on doing as such, we should improve how we oversee water assets from restricted precipitation." The current year's FAO report centered around water, however a significant part of the association's work this year has been to attempt to stem the potential for the Covid pandemic to offer ascent to inescapable food deficiencies. The association approached governments recently to keep worldwide gracefully chains and food markets open, regardless of the movement limitations coming about because of the pandemic, and these calls appear to have generally been noticed. The world's reaps this year have commonly been acceptable, with certain special cases, yet a few territories of Africa are as yet under danger of extreme food issues.

More than 3 billion people affected by water shortages: Report

A mass strike shut down India&#39;s technology capital Bengaluru on Friday, with hundreds of companies forced to remain closed and public transport services cancelled as thousands took to the streets over water shortages. 
 
Schools, shops and some government offices also remained closed and there were few private cars on the usually clogged roads in the sprawling capital of southern Karnataka state, which has seen days of street protests. 
 
The strike was called to protest against a Supreme Court order that Karnataka release thousands of gallons of water from its reservoirs into rivers that supply the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, which has been suffering from a severe shortage. 
 
&quot;The day-long, state-wide shutdown is in protest against the Supreme Court order and to express resentment over the state government releasing the water when we don&#39;t have it for drinking and irrigation,&quot; said Vatal Nagaraj, president of a local federation of civil society groups. 
 
Around 5,000 protesters took to the streets of Bengaluru, some burning tyres and effigies of Tamil Nadu&#39;s chief minister Jayalalitha Jayaram. 
 
Technology outsourcing giants Infosys and Wipro said they had told staff to take the day off and make up the time at the weekend. 
 
The shutdown also left hundreds of rail and air passengers stranded at the city&#39;s railway station and airport, with no buses or taxis to take them. 
 
India suffers severe water shortages that cause frequent tensions between states. 
 
Earlier this year the government was forced to deploy troops to secure a canal supplying water to New Delhi after it was sabotaged by protesters in neighbouring Haryana state, causing days of shortages in the capital. 
 
&quot;We will give our blood but not Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu,&quot; said Bengaluru protester Pravin Shetty, referring to the river that flows through both states. 
 
&quot;How can the state government release our water to grow crops in the neighbouring state when we don&#39;t have enough of it for drinking purposes this year.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

The strike was called to protest against a Supreme Court order that Karnataka release water into rivers that supply neighbouring Tamil Nadu

A mass strike shut down India's technology capital Bengaluru on Friday, with hundreds of companies forced to remain closed and public transport services cancelled as thousands took to the streets over water shortages. Schools, shops and some government offices also remained closed and there were few private cars on the usually clogged roads in the sprawling capital of southern Karnataka state, which has seen days of street protests. The strike was called to protest against a Supreme Court order that Karnataka release thousands of gallons of water from its reservoirs into rivers that supply the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, which has been suffering from a severe shortage. "The day-long, state-wide shutdown is in protest against the Supreme Court order and to express resentment over the state government releasing the water when we don't have it for drinking and irrigation," said Vatal Nagaraj, president of a local federation of civil society groups. Around 5,000 protesters took to the streets of Bengaluru, some burning tyres and effigies of Tamil Nadu's chief minister Jayalalitha Jayaram. Technology outsourcing giants Infosys and Wipro said they had told staff to take the day off and make up the time at the weekend. The shutdown also left hundreds of rail and air passengers stranded at the city's railway station and airport, with no buses or taxis to take them. India suffers severe water shortages that cause frequent tensions between states. Earlier this year the government was forced to deploy troops to secure a canal supplying water to New Delhi after it was sabotaged by protesters in neighbouring Haryana state, causing days of shortages in the capital. "We will give our blood but not Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu," said Bengaluru protester Pravin Shetty, referring to the river that flows through both states. "How can the state government release our water to grow crops in the neighbouring state when we don't have enough of it for drinking purposes this year." (AFP)

Water shortage protest paralyses India's tech hub Bengaluru

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One shot dead in Iran water shortage protests: State media

More than 3 billion people affected by water shortages: Report

Water shortage protest paralyses India's tech hub Bengaluru