Salmas, West Azarbaijan prov, Jan 29, IRNA -- Head of Salmas Environment Department Jafar Mohammadpour said here on Wednesday that the population of migratory birds spending winter at lagoons in the city of Salmas, has dropped by 70 percent.

Mohammadpour told IRNA that this year's drought, drying up of lagoons and the fall in water level at Orumiyeh Lake were responsible for for the drop.

He said, "Given the drop in water level at Orumiyeh Lake ranging between 3.5-4.0 ms, increased salt density from 180 gms/liter to 350 and drastic drop in the lake's density of artemia, birds cannot inhabit and feed at Orumiyeh Lake."

The official said that statistics taken recently on migratory birds shows a drop in their number.

Hundreds of thousands of birds annually spend winter at the lagoons bordering the lake and along its coasts near the city of Salmas.

Orumiyeh Lake, stretching over 5,000 square kilometers and located between the West and East Azarbaijan provinces consists of 102 large and small islands.

The city of Salmas with a population of 170,000 is located 95 kms to the north of West Azarbaijan's capital of Orumiyeh.