Yusif Gaffarzadeh, director of the East Azerbaijan Regional Water Company and a member of the Lake Urmu Revival Committee, said:
“The water level of Lake Urmu has decreased by 6 cm. The water level of the lake is now 1271.18 meters, which is 6 cm less than last year and 3.38 cm in depth compared to the beginning of the current water year, calculated from the 1st of Mehr.
Yusif Gaffarzadeh added:
“The width of the lake at this level is about 2732.57 square kilometers, and decreased by about 52.7 square kilometers during the same period last year, 68.4 square kilometers compared to the beginning of the current water year, as well as the width of the lake decreased by 1761.6 square kilometers compared to the long-term average. . ”
Gaffarzadeh continued:
“The volume of Lake Urmu at this level is estimated at 3.10 billion cubic meters, which is 160 million cubic meters less than in the same period last year. Decreased rainfall and continued evaporation until the end of the first decade of May this year are the reasons for the decline in Lake Urmu’s level and width indices. ”
It should be noted that a 10-year plan was launched in 1394 to bring Lake Urmu to its revival and ecological level, but the program for the implementation of the plan was delayed by a total of two years. The drying up of Lake Urmu began in 1380, and in 2015, according to an international order, 80 percent of the lake dried up.
The level of Lake Urmu varied from 1274 meters to 1278 meters from 1344 solar years to 1372. However, since the last date, the level of the lake has started to decrease and the level of Lake Urmu has been reduced to a total of 8 meters.
The decline in the level of Lake Urmu has been increasing for 4 years, which indicates that the decline of the lake has stopped and its condition has been stabilized.
The catchment area of Lake Urmu is one of the six main catchments in the country, with an area of 51,876 square kilometers.
