ReutersAuthorities in Iran have sprayed clouds with chemical substances to induce rain, in an try to fight the nation’s worst drought in a long time.
Often known as cloud-seeding, the method was performed over the Urmia lake basin on Saturday, Iran’s official information company Irna reported.
Urmia is Iran’s largest lake, however has largely dried out leaving an enormous salt mattress. Additional operations will likely be carried out in east and west Azerbaijan, the company mentioned.
Rainfall is at report lows and reservoirs are almost empty. Final week President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that if there’s not sufficient rainfall quickly, Tehran’s water provide could possibly be rationed and other people could also be evacuated from the capital.
Cloud seeding includes injecting chemical salts together with silver or potassium iodide into clouds by way of plane or via mills on the bottom. Water vapour can then condense extra simply and switch into rain.
The method has been round for many years, and the UAE has used it lately to assist tackle water shortages.
Iran’s meteorological organisation mentioned rainfall had decreased by about 89% this yr in contrast with the long-term common, Irna reported.
“We’re at the moment experiencing the driest autumn the nation has skilled in 50 years,” it added.
Officers have additionally introduced plans to penalise households and companies that devour extreme quantities of water.
EPA/ShutterstockThe pinnacle of Iran’s Nationwide Centre for Local weather and Drought Disaster Administration, Ahmad Vazifeh mentioned dams in Tehran, West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan and Markazi are in a “worrying state”, with water ranges within the single-digit percentages.
On Friday, tons of gathered at a mosque in Tehran to hope for rainfall.
Iranian meteorologists reported there was some rainfall within the west and northwest of the nation on Saturday – with video displaying snowfall on a ski resort north of Tehran for the primary time this yr.