With no rainfall in Armenia last week and none expected in the next five days, the preconditions for a drought exist in certain areas of the country, especially those not supplied with irrigation water. Zaruhi Petrosyan, who heads the weather forecasting division at the Ministry of Emergency Situations, told Hetq that while predicting a drought was impossible, certain regions of Armenia, especially Tavush and Syunik, could see such a situation given the continued lack of rain. “The Ararat valley doesn’t face such a threat since the area is well irrigated, as opposed to areas in Tavush and Syunik,” she added. Such news was received with a bit of surprise at the Tavush Regional Administration. Razmik Melikdjanyan, who heads the Agriculture and Environment Department, told Hetq that the region had nothing left to dry out. “There is no fruit and the wheat has been harvested. Only pasture lands may experience some drying and so grazing cows may suffer a bit. That’s all.”