TEHRAN – Iran averaged about 1-1.5 degrees on Celsius scale warmer than the long run during the Iranian calendar month of Mordad (July 22-August 21), according to the national center for drought and crisis management affiliated to the Meteorological Organization.

The maximum temperature in the country during the aforementioned period was recorded at 37.4 degrees Celsius, which is 1.3 degrees Celsius higher than the long-term average.

The long-term average minimum temperature in the country is 21.8, which during the past month, was reported 23.4 degrees Celsius showing about 1.6 degrees Celsius above the normal average.

In general, the average daily temperature in the country during last month was 30.4 degrees Celsius, which increased by 1.4 compared to the long-term average. Therefore, the temperature in the country was about one to 1.5 degrees above normal, Ahad Vazifeh, head of the national center for drought and crisis management said.

The minimum temperature was reported to be above the long-term average in a number of provinces, he said, adding, Yazd province experienced the most abnormalities in the minimum temperature record and the temperature was about 3.2 degrees Celsius warmer than ever.

Also, in Kohgiluyeh-Boyerahmad provinces, the temperature was 2.5 degrees higher than the long-term average, he further stated.

In Isfahan and Kermanshah provinces, the temperature was about 2.4 and 1 degrees Celsius above normal, respectively, he said.

Temperatures in Sistan-Baluchestan during this period were also reported to be 1.6 times higher than the long-term average, he noted, highlighting, the highest temperature change occurred in Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari with the maximum temperature of 2.4 higher than normal.

Rainfall 29% higher than long-term average

Referring to the rainfall rate in the country during the month of Mordad, he stated that the whole country received rainfall 29 percent above the long-term average.

Increased rainfall in summer does not have much effect on the rainfall rate because the precipitation is low and occurs in limited areas such as the coastal provinces of the Caspian Sea and Sistan-Baluchestan, so it does not change the rate, he concluded.

Since the beginning of the current water year (September 23, 2019), the whole country received 294.5 mm of rainfall, which is 6.7 percent lower compared to the past year, according to the data released on Tuesday by the National Drought Warning and Monitoring Center.

Gilan, Mazandaran, and Lorestan provinces surpassed other provinces in terms of high rainfall rates over the aforesaid period, as the rainiest provinces, Gilan, Mazandaran, and Lorestan provinces got 932.1, 758.5 and 583.2 mm of rain, respectively.

However, compared to the previous water year, Gilan province faced a 4.6 percent decline in rainfall, and Mazandaran and Lorestan provinces also experienced a 6.4 and 40.9 percent drop in precipitation, while all received more rainfall compared to the long term means.

Almost all the provinces experienced increased rainfall compared to the long term average, except for Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari, Kohgiluyeh-Boyerahmad, Kordestan, and Kermanshah.

Yazd, South Khorasan, and Isfahan provinces recorded the lowest rainfall among the whole provinces.

During the aforementioned period, 371 mm of rain doused Tehran, which shows a 43.7 and 9.6 percent increase compared to both the long run and last year, respectively.

FB/MG