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May 15, 2001
With the 2000/01 rainy season nearly over, Iran has announced its third consecutive drought year. Cumulative precipitation graphs for major crop regions in Iran show that precipitation was below normal for most wheat regions during the 2000/01 growing season. A comparison of cumulative precipitation graphs for the past three drought years in Iran (1998/99, 1999/00, and 2000/01), shows that this year is not as dry as last year in some regions. However, the effects may be more severe, as the country has not recovered from the previous two years of drought.
Iran's deputy minister of energy for water resources, Rasul Zargar, recently announced that Iran's third consecutive drought year is expected to affect 12 of the country's 28 provinces. Zargar said the water crisis would be felt in urban areas, including parts of the capital city, Tehran. He also indicated the effect of this year's drought could be greater than last year, because many communities have not recovered from the losses of the two previous years.
Last year was the worst drought in Iran since 1964. The drought affected 18 of the country's 28 provinces, and 60 percent of the rural population. Major water reservoirs around the country dried, and two years of consecutive droughts prevented reservoirs from being filled or recharged. Nearly dry reservoirs last May required water rationing in urban areas during the dry season, from June through September. Water will be rationed again this summer as water reservoirs were not fully recharged, and current water levels in some reservoirs are reported to be 50 percent down from last year's low levels.
For more information, contact Curt Reynolds at (202) 690-0134
