TEHRAN –This summer is forecasted to be hotter than normal, according to Metrological Organization.

Air temperature will be one to two degrees higher than normal, and on certain days due to abnormal temperature it will get four to five degrees hotter than average, IRIB quoted Ahad Vazifeh as saying.

The current heat will peak from July 5 to August 5, he added.

During spring, the country received 98.2 mm of rain, marking a 60 percent increase compared to 60 mm in long-term. It partly made up for lack of precipitations in fall and winter, particularly in the southern and eastern half latitudes. 

The western and southwestern as well as the south and southeast regions of the country, which include the provinces of South Khorasan, Yazd, Isfahan, Sistan-Baluchestan, received normal to above normal rainfall, the official added.

However, Fars, Hormozgan, Khorasan Razavi, Alborz, Markazi, and Zanjan experienced 10 to 30 percent less rainfall than normal. 

The amount of rainfall in Tehran, Semnan, and Qazvin provinces were 25 to 35 percent below normal;  consequently these provinces are going through the fourth consecutive year of drought.  

Due to prolonged below-average precipitations, which have led to reduction in water availability in rivers and lakes, the above mentioned provinces have entered a stage of hydrological drought, Vazifeh explained.

On June 18, he stated that “the average temperature of the country has been 13.3 °C since the beginning of fall, September 23, which compared to the three-year-period figure,11.3 °C, shows the temperature has increased by 2 °C over time.”

Since the beginning of winter, the temperature has been 9.1 degrees, while it had been 7.1 degrees in long-term average. The last two months of the fall this year were the hottest months on record in the past 50 years, Vazifeh added.
 

El Niño-driven floods

El Niño was the primary driver of extreme rainfall in April and May that caused widespread flash flooding across Iran, as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan, doubling the chance of extreme rainfall, a new World Weather Attribution study found.

Throughout April and May, West Asia was hit by several storms. Flash floods killed at least 500 people in Afghanistan, 124 in Pakistan, and 18 in Iran, destroyed thousands of homes, and wiped out crops, worsening food shortages and threatening agricultural livelihoods.

WMO reports on Iran

On April 23, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released a report on extreme events such as floods, drought, dust storms, and strong winds that affected the country, ISNA reported.

According to the report, below-normal rainfall in most regions of Iran for the third consecutive year in 2023 led to widespread drought in the country.

The eastern half experienced severe rainfall shortage within the year.  Decreased rain and severe drought in the region along with above-normal temperatures have resulted in the drying up of the main inland lakebed, the Hamoun Lake.

In Iran, autumn 2023 was much warmer than normal with severe shortages of rainfall throughout the country, the report added.

Severe dust storms hit most parts of Asia. In mid-September, a dust storm affected Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan causing serious health problems.

High winds in the southeast of the country from September 18 to 25, caused severe dust storms resulting in severe injuries and hospitalization.

Levar wind along with the dust from dried Hamoun wetland affected the region, causing adverse health effects, closure of schools, transportation hazards, and damage to crops.

According to the report, the flood that struck Astara city from September 17 to 19  significantly affected 300 households. The flood resulted from intense and prolonged rainfall in Astara on September 18. Within a span of 12 hours, 220 mm of rain was recorded causing profound damage.

MT/MG