The Aral Sea, which was once one of the four largest lakes on the planet, has undergone a drastic process of desiccation due to the lack of water supply from its main tributaries. As a result, this body of water has become the youngest desert in the world.
Until the 1960s, the Aral Sea had an area of 68,000 square kilometers. If this surface area had remained intact, it would still be the third largest lake in the world, after the Caspian Sea and Lake Superior. However, in the last 70 years, evaporation has fragmented the lake into smaller bodies of water, reducing its size to just 10% of its original surface area.
Exploitation of water resources and its impact
Located on the border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea depended on two essential rivers for its conservation: the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya. These sources of freshwater maintained the balance of this extensive ecosystem in a predominantly arid region.
However, in the 1960s, the water from these rivers began to be diverted for the irrigation of extensive Soviet cotton fields, reaching an area of seven million hectares. As a result, the amount of water reaching the Aral Sea decreased drastically, causing a rapid reduction in its size.
By the end of the 1980s, the lake was divided into two parts:
- The Great Aral Sea, to the south, in the border area.
- The Small Aral Sea, located entirely within Kazakhstan.
Over the next 20 years, the Great Aral Sea continued to fragment into an eastern and a western half, with vast stretches of water that eventually disappeared.
The emergence of the Aralkum Desert
Recent satellite images, disseminated by the European Space Agency (ESA), show the impact of this desiccation process. In the eastern sector, the water has practically disappeared, leaving a vast expanse of saline and arid land.
This phenomenon has given rise to the Aralkum Desert, considered the youngest on the planet.
Ecological and climatic consequences
The collapse of the Aral Sea has brought serious consequences for the region and its inhabitants. Among the most worrying effects are:
- Disappearance of fishing, affecting the local economy.
- Climate alterations, with colder winters and hotter summers.
- Sandstorms, dispersing salt particles hundreds of kilometers away, damaging crops and contaminating sources of drinking water.
- Impact on public health, with respiratory diseases and problems resulting from exposure to contaminating particles.
Additionally, the salinity of the remaining water in the Aral Sea has reached levels higher than those of the ocean, causing the death of most native organisms and a decrease in biodiversity in the area.
Cover photo: Infoescola
