TEHRAN - Precipitations in the country have decreased by 16 percent in the current water year that started September 23 compared to last year, according to the data released by the Meteorological Organization.

The average rainfall since the beginning of the water year has reached an average of 120 millimeters, while the normal rainfall for this time period is 143 mm, so it shows a decrease of 23 mm or 16% compared to the long-term, ISNA quoted Ahad Vazifeh, head of the national center for drought and crisis management, as saying.

Based on the existing data and long-term statistics, the current year's rainfall is even lower than last year's, although last year's rainfall was very low, he added.

Over the three weeks from mid-January to early February, the air temperature of the country dropped significantly, so that the average temperature of the country was more than one degree colder than normal, Vazifeh noted.

He went on to say that in the last week of the tenth month (ended January 20) and the first week of the eleventh month, the average temperature in the country was about 2.5 degrees colder than normal.

“Even with good rainfalls in the last two months, which were often in the form of snow, the drought and heat in autumn cannot be ignored.

It has affected the average available water in the country, and in the northern and eastern half of the country, the amount of precipitation is extremely less than normal,” he concluded.

Over the previous water year which began on September 23, 2021, the rainfall decreased by about 24 percent compared to the long-term average, which marked another year of low rainfall 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 shows an increase of 19.7 mm in rainfall, which is accompanied by a growth of 71.3 mm compared to the long-term period when the amount of rainfall was 11.5 mm.

No end to the drought is in sight over the cold season, Vazifeh 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.

MG