The world’s fourth largest lake has become now a sandy desert due to climate change
The Aral Sea in Central Asia was called the world’s fourth-largest lake. There was water and water as far as the eye could see. But in the last forty years, the lake of 6000 square kilometers area and about 40 meters deep has disappeared into the sky.
Now there lies a vast sandy desert. Only 10% of the volume is a reservoir as a sign of a lake. This event is considered to be one of the biggest disasters of this century due to climate change.
There is no sign of water in this village of Jalanash in Kazakhstan. There is nothing to be seen except the sandy soil and the dust blown by the wind.
A local fisherman named Khojabe was saying, ‘They used to jump into the water when they came to this sea. Their children sat and sunbathed on the beach.”
Wandering around the area, several large fishing boats can be seen abandoned on the sand. More than twenty people were caught in each boat. According to the data, once one-fifth of the Soviet Union’s fish was supplied from the Aral Lake.
And there were crops like watermelon and wheat on the soil of the bank. But slowly the rain started to decrease and the grass died. Now there are no crops.
Fisherman Khojabe said that he caught a fish weighing more than 400 kg from this lake. And catching more than 100 kg of fish was very normal. He last caught a dead fish in 1976. After that he did not catch any more fish.
Now, like the rest of the village, he goes fishing in Lake Balkshah, two thousand kilometers away. He fishes during the fishing season. Spend the rest of the time in the village with that saved money.
Khojabe knows, maybe he will never see that sea and water again here.
The devastating effects of the disappearing Aral Sea are evident in the desolate landscape and the stories of its inhabitants. It’s a stark reminder of the far-reaching impact of climate change and environmental mismanagement on communities and ecosystems.
The once thriving ecosystem of the Aral Sea has become a desolate and barren wasteland, shattering livelihoods and dreams. As the water vanished, so did the hopes and aspirations of the people who relied on its abundance for survival.
