Iran registered 32.6 millimeters of precipitation from the beginning of the current water year (Sept. 23) until Dec. 3, which shows a 39% decline compared with the same period of last year when the figure was 53.1 mm, according to data provided by the Energy Ministry.
Northern provinces had the highest volume of rainfall during the period, with Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan having 249.9 mm, 243.8 mm and 100.6 mm of precipitation, respectively, Mehr News Agency reported.
This is while central and southern provinces recorded very low rainfall. Semnan with 5.9 mm, Sistan-Baluchestan with 6 mm and Khorasan Razavi with 7.5 mm registered the lowest volume of precipitation.
Of the 31 provinces in the country, 24 experienced lower rainfall during the 72 days of the current water year.
Since Sept. 23, water inflow into the dams across Iran has almost halved year-on-year, the head of Data and Information Department at Iran Water Resources Management Company said.
“In the past 72 days, 2.84 billion cubic meters of water entered the dam reservoirs, which show that the inflow declined by 44% compared to a year ago,” Firouz Qasemzadeh was also quoted as saying by the agency.
“Currently, Iranian dams hold 18 billion cubic meters of water while the figure was 24 bcm last year. As the total capacity of dams in Iran is 50 bcm, they are about 35% full.”
The decline in precipitation in the current water year is the main factor behind the lower water level in dams. This is while the spread of coronavirus has forced households to consume more water for improving hygiene.
Following the outbreak of Covid-19 about a year and a half ago and the need to observe personal hygiene measures, water consumption has soared because of regular handwashing and cleaning.
Since the beginning of the pandemic in Iran in February 2020, water consumption in some cities has increased by up to 45%.
According to the Water Research Institute, the decrease in rainfall in the first two months of the current water year will continue until the end of February 2022 in three catchment areas of Iran while the other three catchment areas will see a rise in precipitation compared to the 50-year average.
Iran is divided into six primary and 31 secondary catchment areas. The six major basins are Central Plateau in Markazi Province, Urmia Lake in the northwest, Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman in the south, Hamoun Wetlands in the east, Karakum basin in the northeast and Caspian Sea in the north.
The Water Research Institute has predicted that there will be more precipitation in Urmia Lake, Karakum and Hamoun Wetland.
