Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 15
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
The volume of surface water runoff in Iran has dropped by 32 percent in comparison with the long-term average (last 47 years), according to the country's energy ministry.
"The volume of run-off in Iran stood at 57.23 billion cubic meters in the first five months of Iranian fiscal year (March 20-Aug. 21), which indicated a 32 percent decline compared to the 83.93 billion cubic meters of total long-term average volume, “ the ministry said on its website.
The volume of runoff in the catchment of Iran's eastern border indicated the highest fall in terms of runoff volume by 81 percent, followed by Qare-Qum (45 percent fall), Caspian Sea (40 percent), Markazi (35 percent), Persian Gulf (29 percent) and Urmia Lake (9 percent) catchments.
Iran is located in an arid zone and the country faces a serious water shortage crisis.
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.