Despite the promising autumn rain, total precipitation is still 48 millimeters below its long-term average, head of the National Drought Warning and Monitoring Center, a subsidiary of Iran Meteorological Organization, said.
"A country that has been suffering from various degrees of short- and long-term drought for the past 11 years cannot expect to get rid of the disaster anytime soon," Sadeq Ziaian said, ISNA reported.
He noted that there are 178 dams in the country of which 96 are still in deficit. Years of drought and a steep decline in rainfall, especially in the central plateau, have harmed water conditions as supply fails to meet growing demand.
By extension, many rural communities cannot access enough water, ecosystems are drying up and water consumption and supply policies are unsustainable due also to mismanagement, he rued.
"A wet year will not be able to end the drought."
The volume of water flowing into dams has risen by 105% during the third months of the current water year (started Sept. 23), compared to the same period last year. Nonetheless, 54% of the country's dams, except for those in Kermanshah Province, are less than 40% full.
Western regions, namely Kermanshah, have reported above average rain since September because of which several dams in the region including Azadi Dam, 90km from Kermanshah, overflowed last week.
The driest provinces in the past two months were Zanjan, Sistan-Baluchestan, East Azarbaijan and Ardebil, the senior IMO said.
Kermanshah, Alborz, Tehran, Golestan and Mazandaran provinces received the highest amount of rainfall.
"Precipitation is reported as above normal in other provinces," according to Ziaian.
With the copious precipitation, people want to know whether or not the 11-year-long intensive drought is finally over.
Case of Irrelevance
However, it seems the question is out of place and irrelevant, to say the least.
Instead, the people should be asking, "Are we managing our water resources in a sustainable manner, for the long haul"? The answer indeed is a big “no."
It seems the severe water shortages have still not compelled consumers to “wake up and think differently” about their consumption patterns
Whether the drought is over or not, Iranians must face the bitter reality that the water system is broken (even in a wet year) and things could get much worse before it gets better, albeit if at all!
Half a century ago, American author John Steinbeck wrote in his most ambitious novel “East of Eden” (1952): "And it never failed that during the dry years the people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way."
