Ahwaz city in Khuzestan Province of Iran is located in the middle of the country, by the Karun River. The city, which is 20 meters above sea level, has a population of 970 thousand according to 2006 data. The city, which is connected by rail to the Basra Gulf, is an important oil production center near the Bender Shapfur oil field. The city, which produces 250 thousand barrels of oil per day, is identified in 2011 by the World Health Organization as the region with the highest amount of air pollution in the world.

In the city where the desert climate is experienced, summer days are long and very hot and winter days are mild and short. Sandstorms can be witnessed at some times in the city, where temperatures are high every month of the year. The average daily temperature is about 40 degrees Celsius in the summer and about 20 degrees Celsius in the winter.