Mehr, citing Iran’s Geological Survey, said some of the highest rates were recorded across the plains of Rafsanjan, Anar, Zarand and Sirjan, where annual subsidence was estimated at between 30 and 40 centimeters.
Several villages have already been affected, with cracks and fissures reaching areas close to residential buildings and agricultural land, the report said.
Groundwater depletion drives the damage
Excessive extraction of groundwater is the main driver of the subsidence, according to Mehr, with repeated droughts, declining rainfall, water-intensive farming and thousands of deep and semi-deep wells adding to pressure on underground reserves.
As groundwater is removed, underground soil layers compress and the surface sinks. That compaction is often irreversible, meaning the ground may not recover even if aquifers are later replenished.
Climate change and poor water management have added to the problem, the report said.
Ali-Asghar Zakeri Harandi, Kerman province’s deputy governor for development affairs, said continued depletion of groundwater was threatening infrastructure, farmland and settlements and could damage the province’s long-term development prospects without urgent action.
Farms, roads and villages at risk
The effects go beyond falling ground levels.
Subsidence can crack buildings, damage roads and energy pipelines and alter the structure of agricultural soil. Continued degradation can increase salinity and leave farmland less productive or, in some cases, unsuitable for cultivation.
That is particularly significant in southern Kerman, an important agricultural region where millions of tonnes of produce are grown annually.
Mehr said continued subsidence could threaten rural livelihoods and, over time, contribute to migration from affected settlements.
Problem has expanded across Iran
Kerman is part of a much broader national crisis.
Iran’s Geological Survey said in September that the area affected by land subsidence nationwide had expanded tenfold over eight years, with previously separate subsidence zones beginning to merge in some areas.
A report by parliament’s research center cited earlier this year estimated that around 39 million people, nearly half of Iran’s population, live in areas already affected by subsidence or at risk of its spread.
The report put the affected area at about 185,000 square kilometers, roughly 11% of the country, encompassing more than 380 cities and 9,200 villages.
Tehran also among worst-affected areas
Although Kerman is recording some of the country’s fastest rates of sinking, Tehran province is among the most extensively affected.
Around 1,630 square kilometers of Tehran province, about 12.5% of its area, is experiencing subsidence, according to the parliamentary research cited earlier this year.
The most exposed areas include the Varamin plain, parts of southwestern Tehran and the cities of Eslamshahr, Shahriar and Malard.
The capital’s increasing reliance on groundwater has added to the risk. Parliamentary research found that underground sources now provide a significantly larger share of Tehran’s water than they did at the start of the previous decade.
Deep wells add to pressure
Iranian officials have repeatedly linked the problem to uncontrolled groundwater extraction.
Ali Beitollahi, a researcher at the Road, Housing and Urban Development Research Center, said in July that Iran had 1,450 wells deeper than 300 meters and identified excessive pumping as one of the main factors worsening subsidence.
Recent incidents have illustrated the risks in urban areas. Vehicles have fallen into ground collapses in cities including Neyshabur and Isfahan, while officials have also raised concerns about damage to roads, railways, utility networks and historic sites.
Officials call for lower groundwater use
Mehr said curbing groundwater extraction was the most immediate step needed to slow the crisis.
The measures it cited included closing illegal wells, enforcing limits on pumping, shifting agriculture toward less water-intensive crops, expanding greenhouse farming and improving irrigation efficiency.
Reusing treated wastewater and, over the longer term, desalinating seawater have also been proposed as ways to reduce pressure on freshwater reserves.
But because much of the underground compaction is irreversible, experts say slowing further subsidence is more realistic than restoring land that has already sunk.