Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 5
By Khalid Kazimov – Trend:
The volume of surface water runoff in Iran’s central plateau over the last crop year (ended Sept. 21) stood at 790 million cubic meters.
The figure has dropped to 608 million cubic meters over the current year, indicating a 23-percent fall, Mehr news agency reports.
Iran’s total precipitation during the last crop year stood at 241 millimeters, 22 percent more year-on-year.
Iran is located in an arid zone and the country is facing a serious water shortage.
Iran’s total annual water consumption is approximately 93 billion cubic meters, out of which about 92 percent is used in agriculture (86 billion cubic meters), 6.6 percent in municipality (6.18 billion cubic meters), and 1.2 percent in industry (1.12 billion cubic meters), according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Up to 70 percent of water used in the agriculture sector is being wasted, Iranian officials say.