&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Iran starts cloud seeding to induce rain amid worst drought in decades")
The authorities in Iran have started cloud seeding and sprayed clouds with chemicals in a bid to induce rain to combat the worst drought in the country in decades. The cloud seeding process was conducted over the Urmia lake basin on Saturday, Iran’s official news agency Irna reported. Urmia, Iran’s largest lake, has largely dried up, and appears as a big salt bed. Further cloud seeding will be done in east and west Azerbaijan, the agency said.
In cloud seeding, chemical salts like silver or potassium iodide are injected into clouds so that water vapour condenses easily and turns into rain. The technique has been in vogue for decades and has been used by the UAE in recent years to address water scarcity.
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Rainfall in Iran is at a record low, and the reservoirs are nearly empty. Last week, President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that if it does not rain soon, the water supply in Tehran could be rationed and people may be evacuated.
Iran’s meteorological organisation said rainfall had dipped by about 89 per cent this year compared with the long-term average.
“We are in the driest autumn experienced in 50 years,” it added. On Friday, hundreds of men and women gathered at a mosque in Tehran to pray for rainfall.
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Officials have also announced plans to penalise businesses and households that consume excessive amounts of water.
Ahmad Vazifeh, the head of Iran’s National Centre for Climate and Drought Crisis Management, said dams in Tehran, West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan and Markazi are in a “worrying state”, with water levels in the single-digit percentages.
The meteorologists in Iran reported there was some rainfall in the west and northwest of the country on Saturday. Besides, a video showed snowfall on a ski resort north of Tehran for the first time this year.
