Iran has initiated cloud-seeding flights as the country records its driest autumn in 50 years, with precipitation down about 89% versus the long-term average. The operations, flown over the Lake Urmia basin, are part of a response to a fifth consecutive year of drought as reservoirs run low. Officials say cloud seeding will continue until mid-May to try to boost precipitation in key catchment basins while authorities and residents work to save water.
Iran Launches Cloud-Seeding Flights as Country Records Driest Autumn in 50 Years
Iran has initiated cloud-seeding flights as the country records its driest autumn in 50 years, with precipitation down about 89% versus the long-term average. The operations, flown over the Lake Urmia basin, are part of a response to a fifth consecutive year of drought as reservoirs run low. Officials say cloud seeding will continue until mid-May to try to boost precipitation in key catchment basins while authorities and residents work to save water.
07:07 AM, 11/17/2025Environment
Iran turns to cloud-seeding amid historic drought
Iran has launched cloud-seeding operations to try to stimulate rainfall as the country endures its driest autumn in half a century, state-run IRNA reported. The National Weather Forecasting Center of the Meteorological Organization said nationwide precipitation has fallen by about 89% compared with the long-term average.
The most recent mission involved aircraft equipped with cloud-seeding systems flying over the Lake Urmia basin in the northwest. Cloud seeding, a technique Iran has used for years, disperses chemicals into clouds to encourage moisture to condense and fall as rain.
This effort comes amid one of Iran’s worst droughts on record and marks the fifth consecutive year of below-average rainfall. Key reservoirs are shrinking as precipitation reaches record lows, prompting officials to order cuts in water use and urging residents to conserve in order to avert a wider crisis.
Lake Urmia, once the largest lake in the Middle East and the center of a thriving local tourism industry two decades ago, has largely dried up. Boats now sit rusting and stranded on the exposed lakebed, which is increasingly converting to a salt plain. Experts say climate change has amplified the severity and frequency of such droughts.
“The acute water shortage has even raised alarms about drinking-water supplies in major cities, including the capital, Tehran,” reported state-run Press TV.
Mohammad Mehdi Javadian-Zadeh, head of the National Cloud-Seeding Research Center, told IRNA the program will continue until mid-May “whether by airplane or drone, and if suitable systems exist in the country.” He added that, given Iran’s largely arid geography and the urgent need for renewable water resources, cloud seeding is being used to try to increase precipitation in specific catchment basins.
What this means: Cloud seeding is a stopgap measure aimed at boosting short-term rainfall in targeted watersheds, but long-term resilience will require broader water-management reforms and action on climate change to reduce the risk of repeated, severe droughts.