The Aral Sea- area at risk from drought

Question 1

Describe the Aral Sea’s location

Answer 1

located east of the Caspian sea between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in central Asia. It is part of the Turkestan desert (4th largest desert in the world)

Question 2

how big did the Aral sea used to be?

Answer 2

the size of ireland

Question 3

what is occurring in the Aral sea that is making it at risk from drought

Answer 3

due to an arid and seasonally hot climate (summer temps can reach 60degrees) there is extensive evaporation and limited surface waters in general.
the water supply comes from the rivers Amu Darya and Syra Darya which carry snow melt from mountainous areas

Question 4

what effects have these conditions had on the Aral sea

Answer 4

Aral sea received 2060km^3 of fresh water a year but by early 1980’s received none.
the Soviet union re-directed the rivers that provided the Aral sea for irrigation purposes
by 2007 the Aral sea shrank 10% of its original size, making it no longer one of the top 4 largest inland water bodies

Question 5

what are impacts of this drought?

Answer 5

• fishing industries collapsed which relied on the 24 species of fish that couldn’t adapt to the saline water.
• increased number of dust storms blow salt, pesticides and herbicides into near towns causing a variety of respiratory problems including tuberculosis, cancer and liver issues