Amir AghaKouchak, UC Irvine professor of civil and environmental engineering and others write, “Iran has relied heavily on water-intensive irrigation to grow food in dry landscapes and subsidized water and energy use …. The concentration of economic activity and employment in major urban centers … has also catalyzed massive migration, further straining already overstretched water resources.

At the moment, companies around the world are scrambling to build ventilators quickly, including Virgin Orbit, a firm backed by billionaire Richard Branson which usually manufactures rockets. Virgin Orbit, however, is building a simple version of the machine. “This one is going to basically be for all the patients who need a ventilator but do not need a top-line ventilator. That will free up all these top-line ventilators for the sickest of the sick,” said Dr.