With the end of autumn and the failure to meet the predicted rainfall, the water reserves in Iran’s dams are in a worrying state.
The Iran Water Resources Management Company has announced that the autumn rainfall in 1402 has decreased by six percent compared to the previous year, contrary to the meteorological organization’s prediction of a rainy autumn.
In comparison to long-term patterns, the rainfall situation in Iran appears to be even more alarming. From the beginning of the current water year until 18 Azar 1402, the rainfall in various regions has decreased by 27 percent, with a total of 34.2 mm compared to the long-term average of 47.2 mm.
According to the statistics of the Iran Water Resources Management Company, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province had the highest decrease in rainfall by 58 percent, followed by Fars province with 48 percent, and Khorasan Razavi and Zanjan provinces with 47 percent.
A report from the Research Center of the Iranian Parliament has evaluated the critical water conditions in Iran, despite the hope for compensating for the low rainfall in the current year. Experts emphasize that the water reserves in Iran are more critical than indicated in the report.
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The report from the Parliament’s Research Center specifically assesses the severe conditions of dams in Iran. For example, in Sistan and Baluchestan, “half-empty wells have decreased by 4 percent compared to the same period last year.”
The reserves of dams in Fars, Kermanshah, Hormozgan, and Khorasan Razavi provinces also face a decrease in storage volume compared to the previous year, causing concerns for drinking water supply in the coming year.
The continuity of low rainfall in recent years has led to a situation where even the Zayandehrud dam, with a 154 percent increase in storage compared to the previous year, remains at a 36 percent capacity.
The Parliament’s Research Center, based on weather data and indices, had deemed the drought conditions in Iran concerning until the end of the summer of 1404. The report highlighted severe drought in various provinces of Iran.
Even with the onset of winter, the mismatch between rainfall and meteorological predictions continues. The Director of the Meteorological Organization claimed that their statements are predictions, not certainties, and that evidence for above-normal rainfall during autumn did not materialize.
According to published information, the rainfall conditions in Tehran are critical, potentially affecting the city’s water supply and reservoir levels.
The severity of the water situation in Iran has reached a point where some government officials have warned that the inability to supply drinking water may become a reality even before the hot seasons of next year, potentially resulting in a water crisis in the late winter months of 1402.