TEHRAN - Precipitations in the country have increased by 12 percent in the current water year that started September 23, 2022, compared to the same period the year before, according to the data released by the Meteorological Organization.

During the mentioned period, precipitations amounted to 148 millimeters, a decrease of 19 percent compared to the normal level, ISNA reported.

Data show that the country received some 62 percent of the normal precipitation over the last six months, while under normal conditions, the figure should be about 77 percent.

Only six provinces of Isfahan, Bushehr, Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari, Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh-Boyerahmad, and Yazd had more precipitations than normal, and in 25 provinces was less than normal.

Over the previous water year which began on September 23, 2021, precipitations decreased by about 24 percent compared to the long-term average, which marked another year of low precipitations for Iran.

As the newly extracted statistics show, a total of 180.4 mm of rain has poured in the country over the past water year, which shows a decline of 23.9 mm compared to the long-term average of 237.1 mm.

The last water year marked the year of low rainfall for the country, causing the continuation of dry years.

The summer season showed an increase of 19.7 mm in rainfall, which was accompanied by a growth of 71.3 mm compared to the long-term period when the amount of precipitation was 11.5 mm.

No end to the drought is in sight over the cold season, Ahad Vazifeh, head of the national center for drought and crisis management, forecasted in January.

A temperature higher than the normal of the last 30 years is predicted, he said, ISNA reported.

In general, a rainy winter is not expected and the rainfall is likely to be less than normal, but the effects of drought in many parts of the country will be even stronger than last year, he warned.

The average rainfall in the semi-arid country of Iran is 250 mm, which is one-third of the world average. Iran’s 53-year average rainfall was 250 mm, which has decreased to 232 mm in the last 13 years.

Parallel to this decrease, the increasing trend of temperature caused an increase in evaporation and a decrease in precipitations, and a sharp drop in the level of underground water resources and its limitation.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society estimates that 4.8 million people are at medium to high risk of drought-related impacts, mostly in remote and rural areas of the provinces.

It reports that 29 of 31 provinces, and especially seven – South Khorasan, Kerman, Sistan-Baluchestan, Hormozgan, Khuzestan, Isfahan, and Khorasan Razavi – have been severely affected by the drought.

The lack of safe and sufficient water supply for drinking, hygiene, agriculture, animal husbandry, and power generation is having a devastating and increasingly unsustainable strain on households’ health, and income in addition to encouraging negative social trends and coping mechanisms.

MG