Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
By Temkin Jafarov - Trend:
Severe drought began in Iran, the Iranian Mehr news agency said Sept.12.
The amount of precipitation has decreased in average by 25 percent, compared to previous years, Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian said.
He said that today the problem of water scarcity is one of the most important in the world.
"Solving the problem of water shortage for us is also very important, since Iran is located in the arid zone," said Chitchian.
"Population growth, agricultural development increased needs of the country in water," said the minister of energy. "Over 600 dams have been built in Iran over the past 30 years, the amount of water in them accounts for 48 billion cubic meters."
He went on to add that Iran's renewable water resources declined from 130 billion cubic meters to 110 billion cubic meters a year.
Iran is located in the arid zone, and drought has been repeatedly observed in the country for the last 40 years. Drought of 1992-2002 caused great damage to the country's crop production field. Several cities, including Tehran, introduced quota for drinking water.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @JafarovTemkin