Iran deploys military aircraft for cloud seeding operations across drought-hit regions
Iran has deployed military aircraft for eight cloud seeding missions over 48 hours, Defrapress reported on December 10.
The rain-making programme targeted Lake Urmia and drought-prone central provinces in an escalating effort to combat the country's worsening water crisis, which has seen dams across the country run dry in recent months.
Cloud seeding is a form of weather modification where tiny particles are added to existing clouds to encourage more rain or snow to fall.
Iranian military planes conducted three flights on December 10, concentrating firepower on Lake Urmia basin in the northwest, which has lost roughly 90% of its water volume since the 1990s.
Two missions focused exclusively on Urmia, whilst a third swept across Tehran, Alborz, Zanjan and Qazvin provinces.
Additional sorties targeted Yazd province, extending precipitation efforts into Iran's central desert belt.
The operations mark the latest chapter in Tehran's aggressive pursuit of weather modification technology as the Islamic Republic grapples with mounting water scarcity.
Iran has experienced decades of drought exacerbated by dam construction, agricultural mismanagement and climate change, leaving major water bodies, including Lake Urmia, on the brink of ecological collapse.
Hamed Tabatabaei, engineer and head of the cold cloud seeding team, said forecasting teams identify priority areas one to two days ahead, with operations leaders communicating directly with pilots to determine routes, altitudes and timing for silver iodide discharges based on real-time sensor data inside clouds, according to Tabnak.
Unlike conventional high-altitude flights, cold cloud seeding requires pilots to penetrate cloud formations and navigate in near-zero visibility conditions.
Cloud seeding offers only marginal gains and cannot substitute for comprehensive water policy reform.
Iran has conducted cloud seeding programmes for years with mixed results, though officials rarely publish independent assessments of effectiveness.
The cloud-seeding programme comes as Tehran's reservoirs hold just 3% of capacity excluding Taleghan dam, with rainfall 97% below long-term averages in the worst drought on record, the head of Tehran's water and sewage company said on December 5.
The region should have received at least 75mm of rain by this point but has recorded only 3-4mm, compared with 43mm in the same period last year.
No comments:
Post a Comment