Financial Tribune - Since the beginning of the current water year (September 23) almost 140 millimeters of rain fell in Iran, 22% above the long-term average, head of Weather Forecasting Office at Iran's Meteorological Organization said.

�The downpour is 7% higher compared to the corresponding period last year when 130 mm of rainfall was registered,� Ahad Vazifeh was quoted as saying by ISNA.

Four provinces, namely Gilan, Mazandaran, Kohgiluyeh-Boyerahmad and Hormozgan reported the highest rainfall at 460 mm, 360 mm, 330 mm and 286 mm, respectively.

Precipitation in other provinces including Semnan (54 mm), Yazd (44 mm) and North Khorasan (58 mm) was of the descending order in long-term average.