The Aral Sea An Ecological Disaster

Where in the World?

1964

1973

Over the past years there has been a loss of more than 60% of the lake's water. The lake has shrunk from over 65,000 sq km to less than half that size, exposing large areas of the lake bed. From 1973 to 1987 the Aral dropped from fourth to sixth among the world's largest lakes.

The Aral, once the world's fourth-largest lake, has lost 90 percent of its source waters and half its surface area.

2003

How did this happen? For more than 30 years, water has been diverted from the Amu-Darya and the Syr- Darya Rivers feeding the Aral, to irrigate millions of acres of land for cotton and rice production in Central Asia.

How did this happen? By 1960 water diverted from rivers that feed the Aral Sea irrigated 11 million acres, most of it former desert, producing enough cotton to make the Soviet Union a net exporter. Today, these rivers irrigate 20 million acres, extending as far as China to the east and Afghanistan to the south.

The lake's salt concentration increased from 10% to more than 23%, obliterating twenty- four species of fishes that once thrived there. Ships lie abandoned on salt-encrusted seabeds, and fishing villages are now far from water. What are the Hydrological Consequences?

The local climate has shifted. Desert land has spread; wetlands have dried up; and sandstorms, stirring up pesticide-laden dust, are more common. Summers are hotter and dryer, winters colder, growing seasons shorter. What are the Climatological Consequences?

As the water retreated, salty soil remained on the exposed lake bed. Dust storms have blown up to 75,000 tons of this exposed soil annually, dispersing its salt particles and pesticide residues. This air pollution has caused widespread nutritional and respiratory ailments. Cancers have increased by 30 times; arthritis by 60 times; chronic bronchitis by 30 times. What are the Health Consequences?

Ships lie abandoned on salt-encrusted seabeds, and fishing villages are now up to 50km. from water. Besides, twenty-four species of fish that once thrived there are now extirpated. Crop yields have been diminished by the added salinity, even in some of the same fields irrigated with the diverted water. What are the Economic Consequences?

Despite international agencies' new clinics, studies, and infrastructure solutions, and the Central Asian republics' commitment to stabilized water use, the Aral continues shrinking; unless irrigation is cut by one fifth- an unlikely scenario, given the region's poverty and dependence on farming, it will continue to shrink. What comes next? Most recently Kazakhstan built a dam separating the northern and southern portions. This should restore the northern water levels (fed by the Syr Darya), and condemn the southern portion (water from the Amu Darya no longer reaches the Aral Sea).

Bibliography ralhttp://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/earthshots/slow/Aral/A ral A SEA CHANGE, Harper's Magazine, X, Oct2000, Vol. 301, Issue 1805 Google Earth. unimaps.com/aral-sea/