18-Centimeter Decrease in Urmia Lake Water Level in One Year

A representative from the Urmia Lake Revival Headquarters in West Azerbaijan Province announced that the water level of Urmia Lake has decreased by 18 centimeters compared to last year, stating that this situation is 'not concerning.' According to ISNA news agency, Farhad Sarkhosh said on Saturday, June 3, that the water level of Urmia Lake is 1270 meters and 93 centimeters, which has decreased compared to last year, 'but this situation is not concerning.' He attributed the decrease in the lake's water level to a 20% reduction in rainfall compared to the previous year. The report indicates that an analysis of the water level statistics from last year shows an 18-centimeter decrease. The water level refers to the difference in elevation of lakes or other points compared to the open sea (reference unit), and measuring this parameter allows for the assessment of changes in lake water levels. Mr. Sarkhosh also stated that the water level of Urmia Lake has increased by approximately 85 centimeters compared to October 2015, and the 10-year revival program for this lake is progressing. Meanwhile, Ghorbanali Saadat, the governor of West Azerbaijan, mentioned that the water volume of Urmia Lake has increased from 500 million cubic meters in 2013 to 2.5 billion cubic meters, a fivefold increase. In the first official meeting of Hassan Rouhani's government in 2013, a committee was formed to save Urmia Lake, consisting of representatives from the ministries of energy, interior, agricultural jihad, as well as the head of the environmental protection agency and a representative from the president's planning office. Measures taken by the government for the lake's revival plan include prohibiting water transfer to islands and wetlands around Urmia Lake, banning the expansion of agricultural lands in the lake's watershed, and conducting operations that would increase water extraction from the resources of this watershed. However, in recent years, some officials have reported that part of the approved budgets for this issue has not been disbursed. In this regard, Mr. Sarkhosh stated that in 2016, 1200 billion tomans were supposed to be allocated to the Urmia Lake Revival Headquarters projects, but only 40% of this amount has been paid. In recent years, protests against the drying of Urmia Lake have been held in Tabriz and Urmia, with hundreds arrested during these gatherings. Meanwhile, some foreign institutions, including Germany, are executing joint projects with Iran for the revival of Urmia Lake, and the Japanese government has so far contributed two million dollars to the United Nations Development Program for the revival of Urmia Lake. Government officials and experts have previously warned about the potential drying up of hundreds of other lakes and wetlands in Iran.