More than two decades of drought have caused substantial problems in much of Iran, with dried up rivers, dead trees, and depleted underground water supplies. Some experts predict that areas in Southern Iran may become uninhabitable if the drought persists[1]. Current forecasts from WSIM indicate continued exceptional deficits through October 2015, with an area in Southeastern Iraq remaining in exceptional deficit into November 2015. The only portion of the country not showing serious deficits is the area around the Dasht-e Kavir (salt desert), which typically gets very little rain or snow. The figure depicts the composite water anomaly index for a six-month period from June through November 2015. For the most part this pattern continues through January 2016, the result of the serious deficits through October.

This blog post presents results from our May “WSIM Global Water Monitor and Forecast” report. This report is based on observed temperature and precipitation through April 2015 and an ensemble of 28 temperature and precipitation forecasts issued by NOAA's CFSv2 the last week of April 2015.

WSIM Composite Water Anomaly Index for Jun through Nov 2015 — **WSIM Composite Water Anomaly Index** for Jun through Nov 2015

[1] New York Times. May 5, 2015. The Empty River of Time. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/06/world/middleeast/iran-our-man-in-tehran.html