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Iran launches cloud-seeding operation amid record drought
Iranian authorities have launched cloud-seeding operations to induce rainfall as the country faces one of its worst droughts in decades, state media reported on Sunday.
“Today, a cloud-seeding flight was carried out over the Lake Urmia basin for the first time in the current hydrological year,” which begins in September, announced the official Irna news agency. Lake Urmia, Iran’s largest lake, located in the northwest, has dramatically shrunk due to the prolonged drought. According to Irna, additional operations are planned in the East and West Azerbaijan provinces.
Cloud seeding consists of dispersing particles—typically silver iodide—into clouds to trigger precipitation. Last year, Iran said it had developed its own technology for this purpose.
Largely arid, the country has been suffering for years from chronic drought and repeated heatwaves, which are expected to worsen under climate change.
According to Irna, Iran is currently experiencing its “driest autumn in 50 years.” The national meteorological service, cited by the agency, reports that rainfall this year is 89% below the long-term average.
On Saturday, Irna reported the arrival of rain in several western and northwestern localities. State media also showed the first snowfalls over the Alborz mountain range and the Tochal ski resort north of Tehran.
According to local authorities, precipitation in the capital has not been this low in a century, and half of Iran’s provinces have not seen a single drop of rain in months.
Water levels in reservoirs supplying numerous provinces have reached historic lows.
Earlier this month, President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that without rain before winter, Tehran might need to be evacuated. The government later clarified that this remark was meant to highlight the gravity of the situation rather than announce a concrete plan.
Other countries in the region, including the United Arab Emirates, also resort to cloud seeding to artificially produce rain.