"Environmental issues are fundamentally transboundary"

Dust carried by the wind from the Sahara does not stop at the next national border. A river often flows through several countries, and if its water becomes polluted in one place, it carries that pollution into neighboring states.

“Environmental issues are fundamentally transboundary,” says Nima Shokri, professor and director of the Institute of Geo-Hydroinformatics at the Hamburg University of Technology. At its core, his research is therefore always about global interconnections: everything is linked. “And whether we like it or not, we must somehow find a way to collaborate — across all kinds of borders.” The goal of the work carried out by Nima Shokri and his team is to provide the reliable data needed as a foundation for such collaborative solutions.

Saharan dust from North Africa on cars in Vienna

“At the institute, we tackle challenges related to water, soil, and the environment in general,” Shokri explains. “To address these global challenges, we use a wide range of tools and techniques, including artificial intelligence, satellite remote sensing, environmental sensing technologies, big data, analytics, and informatics.” Key topics include soil health, sand and dust storms, and water availability in reservoirs and rivers. “Much of this has a lot of public relevance. Let’s say drivers in Vienna wake up to find Sahara dust from North Africa covering their cars in the morning. People want to understand what is causing this issue.”

Another, more serious example demonstrating the relevance of his research is land subsidence — the gradual or sudden sinking of the ground surface. “Suddenly, there is a big hole in the ground. We ask ourselves: What’s the reason for that? What’s the effect of different parameters, from environment to climate to policy? When subsidence occurs beneath railway tracks, power plants, residential buildings, hospitals, or schools, it is a significant risk to society.”

The impact on a distant and neutral country

Recently, he published a widely read article that vividly illustrates how events in one part of the world can have surprising effects on another. Together with his co-author Dr. Salome Shokri-Kuehni, he examined the impact of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on a distant and neutral country such as Switzerland. “When maritime routes are disrupted, as is currently happening, shipping does not stop. It adapts. Tankers take longer routes and fuel efficiency declines,” the authors write. As a result, emissions of particles such as black carbon increase. These particles can travel enormous distances. When they settle on snow and ice — for example in the Swiss Alps — they reduce the surface’s reflectivity and increase heat absorption, causing snow and ice to melt more quickly. “In the Swiss Alps, where glaciers are already under pressure, even small increases can have measurable effects. Therefore, what begins as a logistical adjustment in global shipping can end up altering the physical state of distant mountain systems,” the article states. Within just a few days, it was read about 150,000 times.

One of the major focuses of Nima Shokri’s research is soil salinization. He will now serve as coordinator of the EU-funded SaliNova project (an EU Horizon Mission), which has received €6 million in funding and aims to develop advanced tools for monitoring, predicting, and mitigating soil salinization across Europe. 19 partners from twelve countries are working together toward this goal. “Soil salinization remains one of the most underestimated threats to soil health, food security, biodiversity, and climate resilience,” says Shokri. “While the project is focused on the European Union, the methods, tools, and knowledge developed through SaliNova will have relevance far beyond Europe for regions already affected by soil salinization and climate stress.”

International media outlets ranging from Der Spiegel and The Guardian to The New York Times

Since Israel and the United States first launched attacks on Iranian missile and military facilities in late February, international media outlets ranging from Der Spiegel and ABC News to The Guardian and The New York Times have increasingly sought Nima Shokri’s expertise on issues concerning Iran. “Of the roughly 120 papers I have published so far, only two deal specifically with Iran,” he points out. “But of course, Iran suffers from many environmental problems that we research, such as soil salinization, sand and dust storms, water scarcity, land subsidence, and air pollution.” In addition, Nima Shokri was born and raised in Iran. “That means I have a fair understanding of how things work there – the system, the society, the culture. That is probably why the media often find it natural to approach me on topics related to Iran.”

He emphasizes that he never intended to appear in the media as an “Iran expert.” Yet a few months ago, he felt he could no longer remain silent about some of the developments on environmental topics related to Iran. “I found some of the narratives in the press inaccurate. I felt responsible to contribute my point of view.”

Too often, he says, he has read that Iran’s severe water crisis is a consequence of climate change combined with “mismanagement”. “In my opinion, that is simply not accurate,” Nima Shokri stresses. “Of course climate plays a role in water availability. Without precipitation, you don’t have water — every child knows that.” But a term like “mismanagement” is too weak to describe what is happening in Iran, he says. “The Iranian government has a strategy. And that strategy is a major factor contributing to the country’s current condition.” Iran has isolated itself from the rest of the world and now sees no alternative but to try to survive on its own. Everything must be subsidized to this agenda, including the environment. The country is being exploited in an attempt to make Iran independent of other nations in terms of food production. Put simply: according to Nima Shokri, the country’s massive environmental problems are primarily the result of political decisions and priorities pursued by the government.

Around the world and right on our doorstep

In March, Shokri and several co-authors published an article in Nature Sustainability with the unmistakable title “Iran’s policy priorities intensify water crisis.” The article includes, among other things, a map showing lakes, wetlands, and rivers in Iran that have dried up completely or almost completely over the past thirty years. Satellite images from 1995 and 2025 document this devastating development.

“Additionally, I share my thoughts with media and the public on environmental issues occurring around the world – including issues right on our doorstep”, Nima Shokri explains. “For example, the Hamburger Abendblatt once interviewed me about the salinization of soil in the Altes Land region and the risks this poses to apple farming.” When he published the first global map of areas affected by the risk of land subsidence — and of the nearly two billion people living in those regions — in 2024, the Washington Post, Forbes, and the Financial Times all cited this work.

But whether in the Altes Land region, Iran, or North Africa, one thing remains true everywhere: everything is connected. Nima Shokri emphasizes: “You touch something and a lot of other things will be affected in many different places. There are thousands of things working together. That is why things are always complex, never simple.” At a time when people often shy away from complexity and long for easy answers, he admits that it is not always easy to communicate these complicated interrelationships. If he could wish for one thing, would it be a greater willingness among the public to engage with complexity and accept that many problems can only be solved collectively?

“Cooperation is important, no question,” he answers after some thought. “But above all, I would like to live in a world in which people are better informed.” For him, that begins with good school curricula and extends all the way to governments openly and honestly informing their citizens about what they are doing. “Tell the truth! Truth leads to understanding — understanding of one another and of interconnected systems — and understanding creates cooperation.” That, says Nima Shokri, is “his dream.”