Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 19
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
The volume of run-off in Iran stood at 39.267 billion cubic meters during the 10 month period of current crop year (September 22, 2013 to July 22, 2014).
The figure indicates 10 percent fall compared to the 43.442 billion cubic meters of total run-off in the same period of preceding year, Mohammad Hajirasouliha, head of Iran's Water Resources Management Company said, official IRIB news agency reported Aug. 19.
The figure also indicates a 52 percent fall in comparison with the long-term average volume of the same period, he noted.
Hajirasouliha went on to add that the average volume of the country's run-off during the ten month period of last 45 years (long-term average) was 82.889 billion cubic meters.
The volume of run-offs in the catchments of Caspian Sea was 5.748 billion cubic meters during the period. The figure for Gulf was 24.012 billion, for Urmia Lake 2.194 billion, for Markazi 5.907 billion, for Hamoun 321 million and for Sarakhs 1.085 billion cubic meters in the ten-month period.
The figures indicate falls by 26, 1, 11, 16 and 29 percent respectively compared to the same period of the preceding year, according to the official.
Iran is located in an arid zone and the country has been repeatedly faced with drought in the past 40 years.
The drought of 1992-2002 caused a major blow to agriculture. There were quotas imposed for fresh water in several cities including Tehran.
Hamidreza Janbaz, an Advisor to Iranian energy minister, said that currently 517 cities are struggling with water shortage across the country.
"At present, a special program is being worked out to solve the water shortage problem in the next three years," he added.
"A drought has been observed in the country for nearly 13 years," Janbaz said.
On May 19, Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian said water shortage has turned into a serious problem for the country.