Baku, Azerbaijan, August 30
Trend:
Precipitation in the catchment of Lake Urmia, located between Eastern and Western Azerbaijani provinces of northwestern Iran, has increased by 47 percent, Iran’s energy ministry said.
Total rainfall in the catchment reached 407.8 millimeters from the beginning of the current crop year, which started on September 22, 2017.
Compared to the long-term average precipitation (49 years), total precipitation in Iran indicates a rise by 21 percent, meanwhile compared to the same period of the preceding year it registered a 47.2 percent growth.
Concerns over drying the lake have increased as its volume has dropped to less than 10 percent of its original and over 70 percent of its area has dried up in recent years. The level has been declining since 1995. Its area is about 6,000 square kilometers. Lake Urmia needs 3.1 billion cubic meters of water per year to exist.
According to the energy ministry data Iran experienced 169.2 millimeters of precipitation from the beginning of the current crop year, averagely.
The figure indicates a 31.2 percent decline compared to the precipitation in the same period of the preceding year, and a fall by 26.9 percent compared to the long-term average precipitation.
The overall volume of the rainfall from the September 20, 2017 has surpassed 278.85 billion cubic meters so far, according to the report.
The highest rainfall was registered in Lake Urmia catchment with 407.8 millimeters, followed by Caspian Sea catchment (390.1 millimeters, 15.7 percent yearly increase, 3.9 percent fall compared to the long-term precipitation), Persian Gulf and Oman Sea (211.7 millimeters, 42.1 percetn fall year-on-year, 41.9 percent decrease compared to long-term) and Central plateau (103 millimeters, 36 percent fall year-on-year).
The Islamic Republic is located in an arid zone and the country is facing a serious water shortage crisis.
However, many experts believe that the current water shortage is a result of mismanagement of water resources, rather than drought.