According to the latest data on Iran’s dam reservoirs, the volume of water inflow into dams from September 23 (the start of the current water year) to October 18 has decreased by 39%, and rainfall in 21 provinces has been recorded as zero. Currently, Iran’s dams are on average only 34% full.
The state-run ILNA news agency reported on Friday, October 24, that the total volume of water entering Iran’s dams from September 23 to October 18 was 780 million cubic meters — a 39% drop compared to 1.29 billion cubic meters during the same period last year.
Water discharge has also decreased by 29% due to management restrictions.
According to official statistics, the total water storage in the country’s dams has now reached 17.66 billion cubic meters, compared to 23.31 billion cubic meters during the same period last year — showing a 24% decline this year.
The average filling rate of Iran’s dams is estimated to be only 34%.
On September 22, Mohammad Reza Kavianpour, head of the Water Research Institute, warned that rainfall this fall would be “below normal” and that the water crisis in the country would persist.
That same day, the state-run IRNA news agency reported that only 36% of Iran’s total dam capacity had been filled.
Reports indicate that 22 dams across the country are in a critical condition, with less than 15% capacity. Among the dams supplying water to Tehran, Amir Kabir Dam is at 11%, Lar at 2%, Taleghan at 38%, and Latyan-Mamlu at 9% capacity.
In other regions of the country, the severe decline in water reserves continues. Dams in the Lake Urmia basin have fallen by 40% compared to last year, while in Khuzestan Province, the Karkheh, Marun, and Jarreh dams have experienced declines of 49%, 70%, and 26%, respectively.
In Hormozgan Province, the Esteghlal and Shamil-Niyan dams have experienced up to 100% depletion of their reserves, while in Golestan Province, the Voshmgir, Boostan, and Golestan dams have virtually dried up.
Zero Rainfall in 21 Provinces
According to official data, the total rainfall from September 23 to October 17 was only 1.9 millimeters, while the long-term average is 56 millimeters and last year’s figure was 3.9 millimeters.
Based on these figures, 21 provinces in Iran recorded no rainfall in October, raising serious concerns about water supplies for agriculture and drinking in the coming months.
The provinces without rainfall include Tehran, Markazi, Kermanshah, Khuzestan, Fars, Kerman, Khorasan Razavi, Isfahan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Kurdistan, Hamedan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Lorestan, Ilam, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Bushehr, Zanjan, Yazd, Hormozgan, Qom, and South Khorasan.
Experts warn that continued rainfall decline and falling dam reserves could make this one of Iran’s driest autumns in the past decade.
Meanwhile, despite repeated warnings about water resource management, no sustainable solutions have been implemented, and in some cases, officials of Iran’s regime have resorted to temporarily shutting down activities in certain provinces as a measure to prevent further deterioration.
