TEHRAN –Despite the unprecedented increase in air temperature and water evaporation in summer, Lake Urmia has one billion cubic meters more water compared to the same period last year, an official with the provincial Department of Environment has said.

Lake Urmia in the northwestern West Azarbaijan province started to dry up in the 2000s. The lake is the largest in West Asia and the sixth-largest salt lake in the world with a water surface area of 5,000 to 6,000 square kilometers.

“The optimal state of Lake Urmia is attributed to the supply of water needed by the lake," IRNA quoted Saeed Shahand as saying.

Some of the wetlands in the West Azarbaijan province dried up in summer last year. However, they are filled with water now.  Dargah Sangi wetland, in the southwestern part of Lake Urmia, is an example of the wetlands that dried last summer but are in good condition now, Shahand further noted.

He also referred to Kani Brazan wetland, located near the city of Mahabad, saying that presently, at least, the wetland has a unique amount of one meter of water.

"Fortunately, despite the high temperature, no fire has broken out in the area, and the rangers have made their best efforts to monitor the wildlife conditions,” he highlighted.

According to the monitoring conducted in Lake Urmia National Park, the wild bird population in the lake has increased this year. The wild birds in West Azarbaijan province have chosen to pass the summer in Lake Urmia migrating less to the satellite wetlands, the official said.

Referring to the flamingos as the flagship bird of Lake Urmia, the official said currently, some 35 to 40 thousand flamingos live in Lake Urmia, while around 3 to 4 thousand other flamingos live in Dargah Sangi wetland and other satellite wetlands of the lake.

In April, Mohammad-Sadeq Motamedian, the secretary of the national working group for Lake Urmia restoration said, “Thanks to a 43 percent increase in precipitation, the area of Lake Urmia basin  reached 1,500 square kilometers.”

The water area of the lake has increased by 350 square kilometers compared to the same time last year, IRIB quoted the official as saying.

The amount of rainfall in West Azarbaijan Province has increased by 27 percent as measured against the long-term average, Motamedian who is also the governor-general of West Azarbaijan province, added.

Since October 2023, 411 cubic meters of water per second have been released from dams to Lake Urmia. Around 50 million cubic meters of water have flowed into the lake so far, he mentioned.

The current water level of Lake Urmia stands at 1270.38 meters, showing an increase of 9 centimeters compared to the same period last year. Since the beginning of the water year in fall 2023, it has increased by 55 centimeters.

“The volume of water now exceeds 1.9 billion cubic meters marking a rise of 250 million cubic meters compared to the same period last year.

It has increased by 1.3 billion cubic meters compared to the beginning of the water year in fall 2023,” Motamedian added.

Lake Urmia’s area expands year on year

Satellite images showed that the area of Lake Urmia measured on February 22 was equal to 2,061 square kilometers which has increased compared to 1,819 square kilometers on March 7, 2023.

Following the recent precipitations across the country and the importance of reviving wetlands and lakes, the country's mapping organization monitored Lake Urmia’s area using satellite images from the Iranian calendar year 1401 (March 2022- March 2023) to 1402 (March 2023-March 2024), ISNA reported.

The southern part of the lake has expanded notably.

MT/MG