Aral Sea

Shrinking Caspian Sea worries environmental activists

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Residents of Aqtau, a Kazakhstani port city located on the northeastern shore of the Caspian Sea, are on edge these days. For more than two decades, they have watched the Caspian Sea shrink and the local economy wither. As the sea receded, the city’s population, estimated at 250,000, saw disruptions in trade and experienced difficulties … Read more

Melting glaciers, drying sea highlight Central Asia’s water woes

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WASHINGTON —  Climate change and water scarcity are harsh realities facing Central Asia. Glaciers in the east, in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, are rapidly melting, while in the west, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the Aral Sea has turned into a desert. According to the World Bank, almost a third of the region’s 80 million … Read more