Overview
- Iran’s first cloud seeding flight of the season was carried out over the Urmia Lake basin on Nov. 15, with additional operations planned in East and West Azerbaijan, state media reported.
- The meteorological organization describes the current season as the driest autumn in 50 years, underscoring an extreme precipitation shortfall across much of the country.
- Reservoirs feeding the capital have fallen to roughly 5% of reserve capacity, prompting pressure reductions, reported nighttime cutoffs, and guidance for households to install pumps and storage tanks.
- President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that Tehran could face evacuation if significant rain does not arrive by late November, while authorities signal tougher rationing and penalties for overuse.
- Localized showers in several western provinces and first snowfall this year near Tehran offered brief relief, yet experts caution that cloud seeding and short-term measures cannot resolve long-running overuse and mismanagement.