The Caspian Sea will rapidly shallow and shrink over the next 5–10 years. Researchers fear that it may replicate the fate of the Aral Sea, which dried up and split into two parts.
According to sea-news.az the “SHOT” Telegram channel reported on this.
It was stated that a continuous downward trend in the water level of the Caspian Sea has been observed in recent years. Serious changes are being recorded in Azerbaijan, where the sea has receded 15–20 meters from the coast over the last 20 years, and in Kazakhstan, where the shoreline has decreased by 35 kilometers. A similar situation is being experienced in Turkmenistan and Iran as well. Consequently, scientists sounding the alarm emphasize that this process will continue into the next decade.
According to Pyotr Bukharitsin, a leading researcher at the Institute of Water Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the sea level will drop down to 31 meters in the coming years. This trend could cause severe economic issues, including those related to tourism and fisheries, in the countries and regions with access to the Caspian Sea. The consequences of the process are already being felt in Dagestan. Thus, hotel owners located on the “first line” report that their properties are no longer by the seaside.
Experts are also increasingly drawing attention to the possibility that the Caspian could face the fate of the Aral Sea, which began drying up in the 1960s and later split into two parts. The level of this water basin, which was once one of the largest lakes in the world, subsequently decreased drastically. The primary cause of the problem is human activity. Currently, a part of the Aral Sea has completely disappeared, while the remaining portion has drastically shallowed.
