India, Feb. 3 -- November 14, 2025; hundreds, if not thousands, of people throng four shrines in Tehran, the capital of Iran. It is a Friday, but these crowds are not for the usual prayers. Rather, they offer salat al-istisqa, a traditional communal prayer pleading for rain during drought. This call for divine intervention is a penance and a plea for mercy from the drought that has gripped Iran for five years. Even Autumn 2025, rainfall recorded 90 per cent below long-term averages, making it the driest season for Iran in nearly half a century. Northwest Iran's lake Urmia dried up, reportedly resulting in salt storms.

In the days after the communal prayer in Tehran, the government mounts cloud seeding in the lake Urmia basin. Authorities...