Iranian authorities conducted a cloud-seeding operation Saturday in an effort to produce artificial rainfall amid the country’s most severe drought in 50 years. The chemical weather manipulation took place over the Urmia lake basin, once the nation’s largest lake and now largely reduced to a salt bed.
Iran’s state media confirmed further operations are planned across the east and west Azerbaijan provinces. The crisis has escalated rapidly: rainfall has plummeted by 89% compared to long-term averages, reservoirs are nearing empty, and officials warn that Tehran could soon face water rationing and even forced evacuations.
President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a stark warning last week, urging immediate conservation measures. Officials have announced penalties for excessive water use, targeting both households and businesses. In some regions, dam water levels are in the single digits.
Cloud seeding involves dispersing silver iodide or potassium iodide into clouds to accelerate condensation and trigger rain. The technique has seen increasing use globally in arid regions, including in the United Arab Emirates.
On Friday, hundreds of Iranians gathered at mosques across the capital for prayer services asking for rain. By Saturday, scattered rain and even some snowfall were reported in western provinces and on a ski resort north of Tehran—marking the first measurable precipitation of the season.
The head of Iran’s climate agency, Ahmad Vazifeh, described the situation at several major dams as “worrying,” particularly in Tehran and the surrounding provinces. If cloud-seeding operations prove insufficient, officials may be forced to implement emergency evacuations in areas where drinking water supply becomes unsustainable.
