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Iran Begins Cloud-Seeding Flights Over Urmia Lake Basin

Officials cast the effort as an emergency step during the driest autumn in 50 years.

Overview

  • Iran conducted its first cloud-seeding flight of the current water year on Nov. 15 over the Urmia Lake basin, with additional flights planned in East and West Azerbaijan.
  • The national meteorological organisation reports 2025 rainfall is about 89% below long-term averages.
  • Urmia Lake, once Iran’s largest lake, has largely desiccated into a broad salt bed due to prolonged drought.
  • State media reported localized rain in Ilam, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, Lorestan and West Azerbaijan, and showed the first 2025 snowfall on Tehran-area Tochal mountain.
  • President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that Tehran could face evacuation if meaningful rain does not arrive before winter.