Iran begins cloud seeding to induce rain amid severe drought

Iran has begun new cloud-seeding missions in an effort to produce rainfall as the country endures its most severe drought in decades, according to state media.

The latest operation involved an aircraft dispersing rain-inducing particles over the Urmia Lake basin—an area where the new water year, which starts in September, has brought no relief.

Urmia Lake in the northwest, once the country’s largest body of water, has shrunk dramatically and now resembles a vast salt plain. Authorities say additional cloud-seeding flights are planned across East and West Azerbaijan provinces to address worsening water shortages.

The technique relies on releasing substances such as silver iodide or salt into cloud systems to encourage precipitation. Iran announced last year that it had developed its own technology to support these efforts.

Recent rainfall has been reported in several western provinces, including Ilam, Kermanshah, Kurdistan and Lorestan, as well as parts of West Azerbaijan. Despite these isolated showers, the national meteorological service indicates that overall rainfall is down nearly 90 percent compared with long-term averages, marking the driest autumn in half a century.

State media has also broadcast images of the season’s first snowfall on the Tochal peak and ski area near Tehran, set in the Alborz mountains.

Iran, which is predominantly arid, has struggled for years with prolonged dry periods and intense heat—conditions scientists warn will intensify with climate change.

Officials in Tehran say the capital is experiencing its lowest rainfall in a hundred years, and large stretches of the country have gone months without any precipitation. Reservoirs supplying many regions have dropped to unprecedented lows, further straining the nation’s water resources.