Cloud seeding: Iran’s answer to climate drought

Iran has launched large-scale cloud-seeding operations to trigger rainfall as the country faces one of its worst droughts in decades, state media reported on Sunday.

The first mission took place over Lake Urmia, Iran’s largest lake in the northwest, which has severely shrunk due to years of drought. According to the state-run IRNA agency, additional flights are planned over the East and West Azerbaijan provinces in the coming weeks.

Cloud seeding involves dispersing substances such as silver iodide into clouds to stimulate rainfall. Iran announced last year that it had developed its own technology for this purpose.

The country, much of which is arid or semi-arid, has been battling chronic water shortages and rising temperatures linked to climate change. Meteorological data show rainfall levels this autumn are 89% below the long-term average, making it the driest fall in 50 years.

Some western and northern regions have recently seen light rain and snow, but authorities warn the situation remains critical. President Masoud Pezeshkian even cautioned earlier this month that, without rain before winter, Tehran could face evacuation — a remark later clarified as a warning, not an immediate plan.

Iran joins several Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, in turning to artificial rainmaking as climate pressures intensify across the region.