A climate expert warned about the threat of desertification that could affect about 10% of the country in three decades.
"Currently 35.4% of the country is hyper-arid and %29.15 is arid, together making up %65 of Iran's territory. By 2050, the areas with arid or hyper-arid climate will have extended to include %74.5 of Iran," Ali Khalili was quoted by ISNA as saying on Sunday.
He was citing the findings from a recent study to assess the decertification threat based on the amount of precipitation, level of humidity and duration of drought periods.
The results described areas with more than 600 millimeters of annual precipitation as immune and those having scant rainfalls of less than 150mm and over 274 rainless days per year as under severe threat.
Khalili said long-lasting, multi-year waves of drought could exacerbate the danger of escalating desertification.
"Periodic year-long droughts pose little threat, but droughts lasting for seven years constitute a sever threat."
There has been a 1.5°C-2°C temperature rise over the 50-year period ending 2010, he noted.
"Data from 54 weather stations countrywide show the average temperature at the Iranian Plateau has increased from 16.5°C in 1960 to 18°C in 2010."
