Iran uses cloud seeding to fight severe drought, its worst in decades, with rain scarce and reservoirs at record lows.

Iran has launched cloud seeding to combat its worst drought in decades, with the first mission over the dried-up Urmia Lake basin and plans to expand to East and West Azerbaijan provinces. Rainfall nationwide is down about 89% compared to averages, the driest autumn in 50 years, and Tehran has seen its lowest rainfall in a century. Reservoirs are at record lows, prompting warnings of potential evacuations if rain doesn’t come before winter. The country, which claims to have developed its own cloud seeding technology, joins arid nations like the UAE in using weather modification amid worsening water scarcity driven by climate change and poor water management.