Heavy rainfall in the southern provinces in the past few days has damaged houses, bridges and power/water infrastructure, flooded streets and displaced people.
In the past three days, Konarak, Chabahar, Nikshahr and Delgan counties in Sistan-Baluchestan Province recorded 350 millimeters, 250mm, 200mm and 150mm of rainfall respectively while the average annual rainfall is less than 100 mm in these areas, IRNA reported.
Torrential rains, which started on Jan. 2, have led to flash floods in several cities of Hormozgan, Sistan-Baluchestan, Kerman and Fars provinces and made villages inaccessible, as roads remain blocked and communications are also cut off.
“Despite heavy downpour in southern provinces, water inflow into dams across Iran from the beginning of the current water year, [Sept. 23, 2021] until Jan. 3, 2022, has been as low as 5 billion cubic meters,” Firouz Qasemzadeh, the head of Data and Information Department at Iran Water Resources Management Company, said.
“The figure is 40% of the 9 bcm inflow recorded in the same period of last water year.”
The official noted that currently, dams in the country hold 19 billion cubic meters of water while the figure was 27 bcm last year, showing a 30% decline year-on-year, adding that the total capacity of dams in Iran is 50 bcm and they are now less than 50% full.
Referring to the volume of water stored in some important dams, he noted that Zayandehroud Dam in Isfahan Province, Shamil Dam in Hormozgan Province, Sefidroud Dam in Gilan Province and Kosar Dam in Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province are 13%, 15%, 25% and 77% full respectively.
Dams in Tehran Province (Taleqan, Latyan, Mamlou, Amir Kabir and Lar) and in Khuzestan Province (Karkheh and Dez) are 18% and 55% full respectively.
Northern provinces had the highest volume of rainfall during the 103-day period, with Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan having 255 mm, 246 mm and 150 mm of precipitation, respectively, Mehr News Agency reported.
This is while central and southern provinces recorded very low rainfall. Semnan with 6.5 mm and Khorasan Razavi with 10 mm registered the lowest volume of precipitation.
Of the 31 Iranian provinces, 24 experienced lower rainfall during 103 days of the current water year.
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.
Lakes and Reservoirs
Water levels in Iran’s lakes and reservoirs have halved since last year due to the severe drought affecting the country and the wider region, a report from Iran’s Space Agency said.
Iran’s water resources have been depleted by a lack of precipitation, the construction of hydroelectric dams and cultivation of water-intensive commodities like rice, wheat and sugarcane. Farmers hit by water shortages are fleeing their villages to live in precarious settlements on the outskirts of cities.
Water experts believe that there is no comprehensive nationwide water management plan, or inter-agency coordination, although there is a lot of talk about the need to have them.
One ecosystem under particular strain is the Hur al-Azim Wetland, on the border of Iran and Iraq. Since the 1980s, marshes have been dried by the effects of upstream dams and opened to oil exploration. While researchers studying satellite images found some revival since 2000, the wetland covers just over half its former area.
According to Iran’s meteorological agency, the country’s average temperature has increased by 2C since the 1960s, rainfall has decreased by 20% in the last 20 years and October 2020 to June 2021 was the driest period in 53 years.
A recent study found that this trend is set to continue. Compared to 1980-2004, 2025-49 is going to have more frequent and severe heatwaves, droughts and floods.
Over 90% of Iran’s water are used for agriculture. Due to international sanctions, the government wants the country to be self-sufficient and has encouraged farmers to grow crops like wheat, rice and sugarcane.
“Iranian officials have acknowledged that outdated agricultural and irrigation systems, as well as poor water management policies in the past three decades, have contributed to nationwide water shortages,” Banafsheh Kianoush, an expert on the region’s geopolitics, told Climate Home News.
Iran is one of the most energy-intensive developing countries and ranks among the top 10 emitters of carbon dioxide in the world. The increase in energy consumption is about five times more than the world average and around 35% of this amount are consumed in different types of buildings.
On the other hand, Iran expends approximately 20% of its gross domestic product on energy subsidies. It is predicted that if the current trend of consumption continues, Iran, despite being one of the largest energy producers, will need to import energy.
Improving energy efficiency is, therefore, vital to the country’s progress and can contribute to both environmental and economic sustainability.
