“The decrease in the volume of water and the drying up of the Aral Sea is one of the catastrophic events on a global scale. Only 1/10 of the world's fourth largest lake in terms of water volume has remained in 60 years. Scientists believe that the drying up of the lake is 85% due to anthropogenic factors. Now the dried bottom of the sea makes about 6 million hectares. Thus, the area of the Kara-Kum and Kyzyl-Kum deserts is growing, a new Aral-Kum desert appears,” he said.
At the same time, he stressed that tens of tons of salt and dust rise into the air from the dried bottom.
“According to experts, every year more than 150 million tons of salt, dust and sand rise into the air from the bottom of the dried sea and spread tens of thousands of kilometers to densely populated areas. In general, according to estimates, there are 107-117 billion tons of salt at the bottom of the Aral Sea. Aral salt and dust rises high into the air and, spreading over long distances, leads to salinization of sown areas and degradation of hayfields and pastures. In mountainous areas, this causes premature melting of glaciers, which are the main source of water resources,” he added.
Photo source: picture from an open source