Iran’s state news agency Irna reported that cloud-seeding operations began on Saturday over the Urmia basin, where Iran’s largest lake has mostly dried into a broad salt flat.

The agency said further sorties will extend into East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan as officials seek to generate localized precipitation.

The effort comes as Tehran’s Amirkabir dam has fallen to about 8% of capacity, a figure the National Centre for Climate and Drought Crisis Management called “worrying.” Ahmad Vazifeh, the center’s head, said dams in Tehran, West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan and Markazi provinces all sit in single-digit percentage levels.

He added, “We are currently experiencing the driest autumn the country has experienced in 50 years.”

Chemical Salts to Trigger Rain

Cloud seeding uses aircraft or ground generators to disperse silver iodide or potassium iodide into moisture-bearing clouds, allowing water vapor to condense more readily into rain.

The technique, first developed decades ago, has gained renewed attention in the region; the United Arab Emirates has used similar methods in recent years to mitigate water shortages.

Iranian meteorologists, cited by Irna, said cumulative rainfall this year has dropped 89% relative to long-term norms, contributing to near-empty reservoirs.

Last week President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that Tehran could face water rationing and potential evacuations if sufficient rainfall does not arrive soon.

Public Response and Early Weather Shifts

Officials also announced forthcoming penalties for households and businesses that exceed consumption limits as part of a wider conservation campaign.

On Friday, several hundred people gathered at a Tehran mosque to pray for rainfall, reflecting rising public anxiety.

Meteorologists reported some rain in western and northwestern Iran on Saturday, along with the season’s first snowfall at a ski resort north of Tehran.

Authorities did not directly link the precipitation to cloud-seeding flights, and Irna provided no assessment of operational effectiveness.