Lake Sevan's water level rose by 22 cm in 2024 – National Weather Center

YEREVAN, December 30. /ARKA/. The water level in Lake Sevan as of December 30 was 1900.39 meters, which is 22 cm higher compared to the same period last year, said Levon Azizyan, director of the Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center.

"Annually, this is the highest increase in the last 8 years," Azizyan said at a press conference on Monday.

In general, according to him, 2024 was the most favorable year from a hydrological perspective.

"From January 1 to July 15 this year, the water level in Lake Sevan rose by 51 cm, then dropped by 29 cm by December 30. The volume of water entering the lake through the Arpa-Sevan tunnel from January 1 to December 29 was 185 million cubic meters, which is 70.96 million cubic meters more compared to the same period last year," Azizyan said.

He also reported that in 2024, the volume of water released from Sevan for irrigation purposes was the lowest in the last 15 years.

"The total volume of water releases amounted to 131 million cubic meters, which is 97.2 million cubic meters less compared to the total volume in 2023. Currently, a total of 392 million cubic meters have been accumulated in 5 reservoirs, an increase of 164 million cubic meters over the year," Azizyan noted.

About Lake Sevan

Lake Sevan is the main source of drinking water in the region, one of the largest high-altitude lakes in Europe and Asia, located in the heart of the Armenian Highlands at an altitude of 1914 meters. The lake stretches more than 70 kilometers in length from northwest to southeast, and its water surface area covers almost 1,500 square kilometers.

The lake has only one outlet – the Razdan River (a tributary of the Araks), while 28 rivers flow into it, the total area of whose basins is 2,776 square kilometers.