Iran: Rainfall Increasing, But Disproportionally

EghtesadOnline: Difference in the volume of rain falling in the west and east has reached over 1,000 millimeters.

News ID: ۷۴۶۶۹۷

16 February 2019

According to Energy Ministry, rainfall surpassed 152mm since the beginning of the current water year (in September), indicating an increase of about 20% compared to the long-term average, ILNA reported.

Despite the good rains, unprecedented in half a century, disproportionate spatial distribution has hardly reduced the water concerns and suffering in some provinces.

So far the western and southwestern regions have witnessed heavy rainfall, which in some cases resulted in flooding. But there has been no significant precipitation in the central, eastern and southeastern regions long struggling with water shortages, draught and extended dry seasons, according to Financial Tribune.

South Khorasan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Fars, Kerman, Hormozgan and Yazd provinces get 10% to 50% less rain compared to the long-term average, and about 40% of the large dams are only half full.

For example, while more than 1,140 mm of rain has been registered in Chelgard city in southwestern Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, places such as Zahedan in southeast Sistan and Baluchestan Province did not get even one millimeter of rainfall in the current water year.

Dams in various regions have been affected by inappropriate distribution of precipitation. High rainfall in recent months in the southwest has led to an increase of 427% in the water in dams in Khuzestan Province.

Over 14 billion cubic meters of water flowed into the dams in the past five months. However, dams in desert provinces had very little inflow during the period. Dams in Kerman, for example, hardly received 30 million cubic meters of water, down 52% compared to the same period last year.