Facing its most severe drought in decades, Iran has begun spraying chemicals onto clouds to trigger rainfall. This cloud-seeding effort, reported by the official Irna news agency, was carried out on Saturday above the Urmia Lake basin.

Although Urmia is the country’s largest lake, much of it has turned into an expansive salt flat after years of drying. Irna noted that additional cloud-seeding missions are planned for both east and west Azerbaijan.

The country’s water crisis has deepened as rainfall has dropped to historic lows, leaving reservoirs nearly depleted. President Masoud Pezeshkian cautioned last week that without imminent rainfall, Tehran could face water rationing, and residents might even need to be relocated from the capital.

Cloud seeding works by dispersing chemical salts, typically silver iodide or potassium iodide, into clouds using aircraft or ground-based generators. These particles help moisture condense more readily, increasing the likelihood of rain. The method has been used worldwide for many years, including by the UAE to mitigate water shortages.

According to Iran’s meteorological organisation, precipitation this year has fallen by roughly 89% compared with long-term averages, Irna reported. The agency stated: "We are currently experiencing the driest autumn the country has experienced in 50 years."

Authorities have also introduced measures to penalise households and businesses that use excessive amounts of water.

Ahmad Vazifeh, who leads Iran’s National Centre for Climate and Drought Crisis Management, described water levels in dams across Tehran, Markazi, West Azerbaijan and East Azerbaijan as being in a "worrying state", noting that many are down to single-digit percentages.

On Friday, hundreds of people gathered at a Tehran mosque to pray for rain. Meteorologists later reported some precipitation in the west and northwest on Saturday, including video evidence of snowfall at a ski resort north of the capital, the first of the season.