ReutersIranian authorities have sprayed chemicals into clouds to induce rain to combat the worst drought in decades.
The process, known as cloud seeding, took place on Saturday in the Lake Urmia basin, Iran’s official news agency Irna reported.
Urmia is Iran’s largest lake, but it has mostly dried up, leaving only vast salt beds. The agency said additional work would be carried out in eastern and western Azerbaijan.
Precipitation is at a record low and reservoirs are nearly empty. Last week, President Massoud Fezeshkian warned that if there was not enough rainfall soon, Tehran’s water supplies could be limited and people could be forced to evacuate the capital.
Cloud seeding involves injecting chemical salts, including silver or potassium iodide, into clouds via aircraft or ground-based generators. This allows water vapor to condense more easily and become rain.
This technology has been around for decades, and the UAE has been using it to address water scarcity in recent years.
Iran’s Meteorological Agency said precipitation this year has decreased by about 89% compared to the long-term average, Irna reported.
He added, “Our country is currently experiencing the driest fall in 50 years.”
Authorities also announced plans to impose penalties on households and businesses that consume excessive amounts of water.
EPA/ShutterstockAhmad Vazifeh, head of Iran’s National Center for Climate and Drought Risk Management, said water levels in dams in Tehran, West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan and Markazi were in a “worrying state” with single-digit percentages.
On Friday, hundreds of people gathered at a mosque in Tehran to pray for rain.
Iranian meteorologists reported light rain in the west and northwest on Saturday, and footage emerged showing snow falling at a ski resort north of Tehran for the first time this year.
