Iranians Photograph the First Snow of the Season · Global Voices
Mahsa Alimardani

The credit of this picture goes to @GaryLewisUN. Snowy#Tehran. #Iran. ❄️❤️ pic.twitter.com/lalW6qnhog
— SdfNik (@SdfNik) December 7, 2015
On Monday 7 December, Iranians in the north of the country awoke to a country under a layer of fresh white snow.
There is a common misconception amongst those who are unfamiliar with the country that Iran has a tropical or desert-like climate. In reality, Iran experiences all four changes of the seasons. The capital city Tehran is surrounded by the Alborz mountain ranges, which boasts some of the best skiing resorts during the winter season.
Snow in December before the official start of winter is rare in Iran. In fact, the last such heavy snowfall occurred in February 2014, when some roads were closed off because of the unusual conditions. Heavy snowfall is such a rarity in Iran that in January 2008 a state of emergency was announced for two days, shutting down Tehran, the nation's capital.
The first snowfall of the year was documented by many on social media. Gary Lewis, the UN resident coordinator for Iran, posted pictures for friends outside of Iran to enjoy the beauty of Tehran's new white views.
Again within the space of a few days, #Tehran like I've never seen it B4. Friends/colleagues in diaspora, pls enjoy. pic.twitter.com/mtOuSQM8lw
— Gary Lewis (@GaryLewisUN) December 7, 2015
The teenage great-grandson of the founder of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ahmad Khomeini, posted a photo of a snow-covered tree in Tehran, describing it as “new snow, happy day of students.”
• برف نو ، روز دانشجو مبارك…
A photo posted by سيد احمد خمينى (@ahmadkhomeini) on
7 December is a national day of commemoration for students killed in clashes in 1953 at the University of Tehran by police forces belonging to the former regime of the Pahlavi dynasty.
Another Iranian Instagram user, Babak Rahimi, posted a picteresque view of Tehran's Milad Tower, captioning it with the hashtag “#snow! “#fall-y”.
#برف #پاييز ى! #❄️ #🌨   A photo posted by Babak Rahimi (بابک رحیمی) (@babakrahimi) on
To follow Iran's social media photography of the first day of snow, follow the hashtag #برف  (#snow) on Instagram.