Armenia’s largest freshwater lake, Lake Sevan, is rising at a pace not seen in more than three decades. The lake climbed 11 centimeters between June 1 and 15, the fastest first-half-of-June rise since 1993, said Gagik Surenyan, Deputy Director of the Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center. He said the surge was driven by river inflow and heavy precipitation.
The gains stretch back to the start of the year. Sevan has risen 46 centimeters since the beginning of 2026, reaching 1,900 meters and 69 centimeters above sea level as of June 16, according to official data from the Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center of Armenia’s Ministry of Environment. The climb, up from 1,900 meters and 23 centimeters in mid-January, has been driven by a combination of a wet spring and steady water transfers through the Arpa-Sevan tunnel, putting the lake on a clear upward path heading into summer.
The Arpa-Sevan tunnel has been central to that recovery. From the beginning of the year through June 14, the system transferred 113.991 million cubic meters of water into the lake, including 10.835 million cubic meters during the June 8 to 14 stretch alone. Over that same week, Sevan rose 7 centimeters to reach 1,900.68 meters, the center reported. The current level sits 6 centimeters below where it stood on the same day last year but remains 46 centimeters above the January 1 mark.
A certain increase in discharge has also been observed in the rivers flowing into the lake, the center said. For now, water releases from Sevan through the Hrazdan River for irrigation are not being carried out, easing the drawdown that typically accompanies the summer growing season.
The latest readings build on a strong spring. Days of intense rainfall earlier in June replenished Armenia’s water resources across multiple provinces, pushing the country’s major reservoirs to near-full levels and lifting Sevan further. The Aparan Reservoir filled to 100 percent for the first time since 2011, a development that feeds the Arzni-Shamiram canal and reduces how much water has to be drawn from Sevan, easing pressure on the overall water balance. Levon Azizyan, Director of the Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center, said spring precipitation reached about 198 millimeters, or 131 percent of the norm, helping restore soil moisture and replenish surface and groundwater.
Sevan is the main source of fresh water in Armenia and one of the largest high-altitude lakes in Europe and Asia, sitting at roughly 1,900 meters above sea level. The Hrazdan River originates from the lake, and 28 rivers flow into it. Under the state program for the restoration of Sevan’s ecosystem, the lake’s level is targeted to reach an optimal 1,903.5 meters, leaving the current reading still nearly three meters short of the long-term goal even after this year’s gains.
