Aral Sea Shrinkage

INDIRECT CAUSES

DIRECT CAUSES

In the early 1960's, the Soviet central government chose to make the Soviet Union self-sufficient in the production of cotton and increase rice growth. Irrigation was then installed into the two main rivers that sourced the fresh water into the Aral Sea. link to photo

Dam

CONSEQUENCES

In total roughly 90% of water from the two main rivers (Syr Darya and Amu Darya) was redirected to the fields to water crops.

Over the span 5 years, the water from Amu Darya stopped reaching the Aral Sea. link to photo

This means that half of the water supply that was once going into the Aral Sea is no longer going in which then causes the heightened levels of Salt which is yet another cause of the Aral Sea crisis.

Fortunately, due to the multilateral water agreement that was signed in the 1980’s, some of the fresh water Syr Darya still flows into the sea.

This partially explains why there is more water in the northern most part of the Aral Sea. link to photo

Water that did reach the sea contained a large amount of pesticides and fertilizers used on the crops
link to photo

This then became a major health hazard for any living ecosystem or organism in the vicinity of the Aral Sea because it not only contaminates the water but also the places the water reaches.

This then caused the people of the Villages to leave the area as their food and water supplies were being intoxicated and they were living in an uninhabitable environment which lead the the nearby towns being abandoned. link to photo

Farms surrounding the Aral sea area use highly toxic pesticides and chemicals. For years, these chemicals contaminated the river's water that once flowed into the Aral Sea. When the wind blows across the dried-up seabed, it carries dust containing these toxic chemicals resulting in poor drinking water and pollution of surrounding areas. link to photo

High temperatures in this province mean the rate of evaporation are higher which added to the problem

This then caused the level of the water to drop due to extreme evaporation and strong winds that dried up the remaining parts of the southern Aral Sea. # link to photo

The evaporation then started the rise of the salinity levels in the water which then, this is not only because of the heat but also the lack of balance between water and salt. #

The salinity in the water increased and is now has 3 times the amount of salt than the ocean. #

*The Kokaral Dam, located in the northern part of the sea is helping the small area by keeping the flow from the Syr Darya and is helping prevent the Aral sea from completely drying up. link to photo

“But it was also a death warrant to the Big Aral, on the Uzbek side. People on the Uzbek side are very angry about it. The dam shut the only source of water that was entering their sea.”

The Northern area of the Aral sea has been turned into a nature reserve, this means the natural ecosystems and overall environment is protected by law and can not be harmed in anyway.

The 20 species of fish that used to reside in the sea are now extinct and as the marine life life died, this is due to both salinity levels and polluted water as the fish could not survive with the unhealthy environment they were being subjected to, this then lead to the fishing industry suffering. The fishing industry that used to have around 60,000 employees in the early 1960’s has been destroyed. link to photo