February 14-2014
Snow has fallen on 28 of Iran’s 31 provinces this month, as an unusually cold and broad weather system has locked on the country.
In most provinces, the snow is light—but those are provinces that rarely see snow at all, Shahdad—one of the hottest spots on earth in the middle of the Lut Desert in Kerman province—has even gotten snow to a depth of 4 centimeters (1.6 inches). A local official told the Mehr news agency, “I’ve talked to citizens, the eldest of whom is 80. They said that in their lifetimes, they have never before seen snow in the area.”
In areas like Shahdad, the snow is an amusement. But the cold is a problem since many people lack the clothing and heaters needed for below-freezing temperatures.
The only provinces not to report any snow are in the south—Bushehr and Hormuzgan on the Persian Gulf coast and Kohgiluyeh va Boyer Ahmad, one of the smallest provinces and the third least populated.
The Red Crescent Society says the six provinces hardest hit and where it is focusing its rescue operations are: Mazandaran, Gilan, East Azerbaijan, Hamadan, Markazi and Yazd.
The snows have been heavy enough in 20 provinces to prompt the closing of schools some days. Schools were closed one day in Tehran.
Scattered deaths have been reported, but the government has not announced any national death toll. The most recent deaths reported involved men who fell off roofs while shoveling snow from them. Flat roofs are the norm in Iran so shoveling snow from them is an urgent job during a heavy snowfall. Many roof cave-ins have been reported, but no deaths from such cave-ins have been announced.
Most of the snowfall was last week from Monday through Wednesday.
The National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) announced Saturday that it had restored natural gas supplies to all those who had lost it in the snow emergency. That claim seemed exaggerated to many, given that many villages in today’s Iran receive piped gas and are dependent on it for heating and cooking.
The NIGC pleaded with the public to conserve gas. It said consumption is breaking records around the country and that many communities at the end of pipelines are suffering from low gas pressure because people ahead of them on the pipeline are using so much.