The director of Iran’s Meteorological Department and Drought Management Center, Sadegh Ziaian, has said that 85 percent of the country’s population struggles with water shortage and drought. According to Mr. Ziaian, the number of people affected by drought has increased by 13 percent from last year despite a large volume of rainfall in spring.
According to the SPEI’s [Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index] data for a 10-year cycle ending in July of this year, he said, 20.7 percent of Iran’s population faced prolonged drought. Another 32.5 percent struggled with severe drought, 21.5 percent with moderate drought and 11.1 percent with slight drought, Ziaian was quoted by the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) as saying.
Only three-tenths of one percent of the population experienced prolonged wet conditions, another three-tenths of one percent lived in severe wet conditions, two-tenths of one percent in moderate wet conditions and seven-tenths of one percent in slightly wet conditions, he said. Finally, 12.7 percent of the population of the country lived in normal weather.
According to Ziaian, the SPEI’s climate data on temperature, humidity, and precipitation for the same 10-year cycle showed that 29.8 percent of the country’s land area was affected by prolonged drought, another 28.7 percent by severe drought, 18.2 percent by moderate drought and 9.2 percent by slight drought. Only 11.4 percent of the country’s land area experienced normal conditions.
[aesop_image img=”https://kayhanlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/2001-07-19T120000Z_349045838_PBEAHUKZCEW_RTRMADP_3_IRAN.jpg” panorama=”off” credit=”FILE PHOTO: Young Iranian women carry jugs of water, filled at water distribution point, to their village outside Zabol in south eastern Iran. REUTERS./” align=”center” lightbox=”off” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”center” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]
During the same cycle, four-tenths of one percent of the country’s land area experienced prolonged wet conditions, another four-tenths of one percent severe wet conditions, six-tenths of one percent moderate wet conditions and 1.3 percent slight wet conditions.
“The data for a one-year cycle ending in July of this year showed that one-tenth of one percent of the population faced prolonged drought, another 2.2 percent struggled with a severe drought, 4.8 percent with moderate drought and 21.4 with slight drought,” Ziaian added. “During the same cycle, 1.4 percent of the population experienced prolonged wet conditions; another 2.9 percent lived in severe wet conditions, 6.3 percent in moderate wet conditions, and 10.4 percent slight wet conditions. Also, 50.5 percent of the entire population of the country lived in normal weather.”
Back in January Ziaian said that 97 percent of the urban, rural, and nomadic populations of the country were affected by drought and water shortage.
“While 28 percent of the population is experiencing a severe drought, the remaining 72 percent is struggling with water scarcity. Data also shows that 13 percent of the population is affected by severe drought, 17.7 percent by moderate drought and 22.7 percent by slight drought. While 14.2 percent of the population faces prolonged drought, another 47 percent struggles with a severe drought, 30.7 percent with moderate drought and 5.1 with slight drought,” ISNA quoted Ziaian as saying on January 31.
[Translated from Persian by Fardine Hamidi]
