The Aral Sea

One of the most amazing things about the Aral Sea disaster is that it was no accident. The Soviet planners who fatally tapped the rivers that fed the Aral Sea, to irrigate new cotton fields, expected the sea to dry up. They also wanted to bring water to Central Asia by a huge canal from Siberia, not to replenish the Aral Sea but to expand cotton production still further. The world's fourth largest lake wreck a whole region's climate and ecology, and cause untold suffering to its people.
The Aral Sea, or rather seas, since it split into two in 1987, straddles the border between western Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan. Over the last 30 years, the level of the Aral Sea has dropped by approximately 15-16 metres and the shoreline has moved away by dozens of kilometers. The quantity of water, brought to the Aral Sea by Amudarya and Syrdarya, is diminishing every year. Currently, it is eight and three cubic kilometers, respectively, whilst 30 years ago the Amudarya alone brought 50 cu km. The water table of the Aral Sea has been reduced almost 5 times since then. The streams of warm and humid air, originating above the Aral Sea, used to make a natural barrier for the air coming in from Russia and Kazakhstan. This barrier has been destroyed and the cold air now rushes towards Central Asia. It can suddenly bring hail and showers, sometimes even at the height of summer, causing much damage, reducing the growing period of heat - loving crops and bringing about a great deal of complications. The worsening ecological situation in the Aral Sea zone adversely affects the health of residents and the level of reproduction.
The ecological situation in the Aral Sea zone has caused irreversible damage to wildlife. The plants and animals indigenous to this region have become rare and some of them extinct.