Iran Begins Cloud Seeding as Country Endures Severe Drought

Iran Begins Cloud Seeding as Country Endures Severe Drought
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Iran has launched cloud seeding operations to stimulate rainfall amid what officials describe as the country’s worst drought in decades, Arab News reported. State media said the first flight of the current water year — which began in September — targeted the Urmia Lake basin in the northwest, where the country’s largest lake has drastically receded into a salt plain.

The IRNA news agency said additional cloud seeding missions are planned in East and West Azerbaijan provinces. The technique involves dispersing particles such as silver iodide or salt into clouds to encourage precipitation, and Iran announced last year that it had developed its own technology for the practice.

Recent rain and snowfall were reported in several western and northwestern provinces, but meteorological officials warned that nationwide rainfall has dropped by about 89 percent compared with long-term averages. They added that Iran is experiencing its driest autumn in half a century.

Tehran has recorded its lowest rainfall in 100 years, and many reservoirs across the country have reached critically low levels. President Masoud Pezeshkian recently cautioned that the capital could face evacuation if winter arrives without significant rainfall. Other regional states, including the UAE, also employ cloud seeding to increase rainfall.