TEHRAN – Nearly 96 percent of Iran’s total area is suffering from different levels of prolonged drought, the director for drought and crisis management department of Iran’s Meteorological Organization said.

Referring to Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) over the past 84 months, Shahrokh Fateh said drought severities range from abnormally dry to moderate, severe and even extreme drought.

SPEI is designed to take into account both precipitation and potential evapotranspiration (PET) in determining drought, he noted.

Long and severe drought in the main catchment areas of west and southwestern Iran, as the principal water resource of a large portion of the country, is arousing concerns, ISNA quoted Fateh as saying on Sunday.

Also, as 12-month SPEI demonstrates, almost 90 percent of the country’s area is experiencing different levels of drought, Fateh told.

No one can ignore the effects of climate change on the reduction of average rainfall which consequently lead to drought, however, there are some other some other culprits in Iran as well such as shortsighted water management policies and unsustainable agricultural practices which exacerbate water shortage in the country.

MAH/MQ/MG