Iran Enters a Sixth Straight Year of Drought, With Tehran's Rainfall 40 Percent Below Expectations

Ahad Vazifeh, head of the Meteorological Organization's National Center for Climate and Drought Crisis Management, said in an interview published by Khabar Online on Monday, 6 Mehr 1405, that the country is now in its sixth consecutive year of drought. According to him, Tehran received 50 percent less than its expected rainfall last year and has faced a 40 percent shortfall against expected rainfall this year.

Vazifeh attributed the rising number of dry years, and the fall in wet years compared with five or six decades ago, to climate change, saying average temperatures in Iran and West Asia are about 2.5 to 3 degrees warmer than in the pre-industrial era and each degree of warming adds roughly 6 to 7 percent to evaporation potential.

According to the meteorological official, more than half of Iran's population lives on the central plateau while the region receives only about 25 percent of the country's rainfall, and even normal rainfall cannot make up Tehran's water shortage given the pressure from population, industry and agriculture.