Iran begins to artificially produce rain amid drought

Iran has begun using chemical methods to artificially produce rain amid drought.

Artificial rain involves the “seeding” of chemicals such as silver or potassium iodide into clouds from aircraft or from the ground. This accelerates the condensation of water vapor (the transition from water vapor to liquid) and subsequent precipitation, the BBC writes, citing Iranian media.

According to the official Iranian news agency IRNA, the process was carried out on Saturday in the basin of the Urmia salt lake. Urmia was the largest lake in Iran, but it has dried up significantly due to years of drought. To artificially produce rain, the relative humidity of the air must be high, so the operation was first carried out on the lake.

According to Iran’s meteorological organization, the country’s rainfall this year is 89 percent below the long-term average. The volume of reservoirs in the capital, Tehran, with a population of more than 9 million, has decreased.