Lake Sevan water level rises at fastest rate since early 1990s following abundant precipitation

Speaking at a press briefing, the Director of the Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center of the Ministry of Environment, Levon Azizyan, said that spring flood discharge volumes were especially high in the river basins of the Hrazdan, Arpa, Vedi, Dzknaget, and Vorotan rivers, reaching up to 170% of the norm.

Heavy precipitation continued into June. In particular, in June, the average monthly river discharge in all rivers exceeded the norm.

He noted that Lake Sevan’s water level has experienced an increase not seen since the early 1990s.

“The abundant precipitation has had an impact on the water level of Lake Sevan. If on January 1, 2026, the level of Lake Sevan was 1900.22 meters, then as of June 24, it stands at 1900.73 meters. This indicator is 3 cm higher compared to the same period last year. Such a rate of increase in the lake’s level during June is rarely observed. In the period from June 1 to June 24 this year, the level of Lake Sevan rose by 15 cm, and such an increase was last recorded more than three decades ago, in 1993,” said Levon Azizyan.

Regarding controlled water releases from Lake Sevan, Levon Azizyan noted that, due to the precipitation-rich season, water discharge from the lake this year will be delayed. For example, in 2025, water withdrawal from Lake Sevan for irrigation purposes began on June 6. Between June 6 and June 24, a total of 31.677 million cubic meters of water had already been released from the lake. This year, however, no water release from Lake Sevan has yet been carried out.

He added that although reservoir levels this year are generally positive, mostly near or above 100% capacity, this is still not sufficient. There are regions where irrigation is impossible without water releases from Lake Sevan. At the same time, he noted that the relatively high reservoir levels will have a positive effect, and as a result, smaller volumes of water will be released from Lake Sevan this year.