Is the Aral Sea toxic?

The runoff from nearby agricultural fields has polluted the remaining parts of the Aral Sea with pesticides and fertilizers, which have crystallized with the salt. Inhalation of the salt can cause severe throat and lung problems. The salt also can poison farmers’ produce and cause chemical damage to buildings.

Is the Aral Sea back to normal?

But more than two decades on, their paths have diverged. Today, the North Aral Sea in Kazakhstan has been revived, with water and economy returning to Aralsk. But the South Aral Sea in Uzbekistan is almost completely desiccated, and its residents are choking on the air.

What caused the death of Aral Sea?

By the 1950s, the Aral Sea was shrinking rapidly. A Soviet program to gain agricultural independence accelerated the water diversion, to the point that flow into the Sea declined eleven fold. Evaporation meant the remaining water had high salinity, effectively killing the once-thriving fishery.

What is the main cause of death of Aral Sea?

Ill-conceived Soviet irrigation schemes reduced the water flow from the rivers needed to replenish the Aral Sea. This has caused over 90 per cent loss in the volume of water in the last six decades. Once the world’s fourth-largest lake, it now hosts travellers who visit to witness the apocalyptic landscape.

Can the South Aral Sea be saved?

The Aral Sea as a whole will never completely recover. The shoreline has radically changed, and the South Aral Sea remains almost completely desiccated. “In fact there are concerns that the sea is still being drained in this area by agriculture and industry, with few environmental controls.”

What sea is drying up in Russia?

the Aral Sea
As the Aral Sea has dried up, fisheries and the communities that depended on them collapsed. The increasingly salty water became polluted with fertilizer and pesticides. The blowing dust from the exposed lakebed, contaminated with agricultural chemicals, became a public health hazard.

What sort of health problems are people facing in the region Aralsk?

Compared with far eastern Kazakhstan, the Aral Sea population seems more prone to develop cancer (34, 35). During the 1980s, the occurrence of liver cancer doubled (36), while the incidence of oesophageal, lung and stomach cancer appear highest (37).

Who destroyed Aral Sea?

Soviet
In October 1990 Western scientists confirmed the virtual disappearance of the Aral Sea in Soviet Central Asia, formerly the fourth largest inland sea in the world. The loss of sea water was the result of 60 years of intensive agriculture and pollution by the Soviet authorities.