Green Options » Aral Sea http://greenoptions.com/tag/aral-sea Posts tagged 'Aral Sea' Sun, 28 Dec 2008 16:36:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en Environmental Catastrophe: The Aral Sea is Almost Gone http://ecoscraps.com/2008/12/28/environmental-catastrophe-the-aral-sea-is-almost-gone/ http://ecoscraps.com/2008/12/28/environmental-catastrophe-the-aral-sea-is-almost-gone/#comments Sun, 28 Dec 2008 16:36:58 +0000 Jennifer Lance http://ecoscraps.com/2008/12/28/environmental-catastrophe-the-aral-sea-is-almost-gone/ The Aral Sea has shrunk to 10% of its original sizeThe Aral Sea is landlocked between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and it was once the world’s fourth largest inland sea.

Due to Soviet irrigation projects, the Aral sea has been steadily shrinking since the 1960s.  In 2007, the sea had shrunk to 10% of its original size, and what remains is heavily polluted from weapons testing, industrial projects, pesticides and fertilizer.

The shrinking Aral Sea has also caused local climate change effects, such as hotter, drier summers and colder, longer winters.  Kazakhstan is trying to save the remaining the northern part of the Aral Sea.

Image:  Wikipedia

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