Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 3 /Trend F.Karimov/
Reserves of water behind 77 dams in Iran have dropped by 70 per cent, so that just 30 per cent of the capacity of the dams is filled with water, the Mehr News Agency reported.
Moreover, 47 dams have seen 20 per cent drop of water reserves. Just 5 dams are filled with water at 90 per cent of their capacities.
According to Iran's Water Resources Management Company, input to 55 dams in Iran dropped by 20 percent in the past Iranian calendar month of Mehr, ended on October 22.
Precipitations in Iran amounted to 237 millimeters during the past crop year (Sept.23, 2012-Sept.22, 2013), which indicates a 2 percent fall compared to the average figure of 237 millimeters in the long term, IRIB reported.
However, precipitations rose 16 percent compared to the preceding crop year.
Water shortage has always been a pressing problem in Iran due to its arid and semi-arid climate, and droughts. As international sanctions clamp down on the country, this issue has gained increased importance.
Iran has experienced several droughts in recent years, especially in the south where it gets hit by violent sand storms that engulfed several cities.
Sand storms particularly enter Iran from neighboring Iraq where desertification has increased over the last two decades due to wars.