Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
Astana, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) — The Caspian Sea's area has shrunk by more than 34,000 square kilometers over the past two decades, and its water level continues to decline, Kazinform news agency reported on Tuesday, citing data from the Central Asian Climate Fund.
On Monday, the aforementioned foundation released an article titled “Is the Caspian Sea Threatened with the Fate of the Aral Sea?”, in which it cited data from national and international research organizations. According to the republican state enterprise “Kazhydromet”, the Caspian Sea level dropped by 2.14 m between 2006 and 2024. As a result, the sea’s water surface area decreased by 34.4 thousand square kilometers — from 392.3 thousand to 357.9 thousand square kilometers, the State Oceanographic Institute of Russia notes.
NASA satellite observations from 2020 to 2025 show that sea levels are falling at a rate of about 7 cm per year, 20 times faster than global sea levels are rising. Experts warn that if the trend continues, the shallow northern Caspian could virtually disappear by 2050.
Scientists note that the rate of warming in the region exceeds the global average: from 1976 to 2024, the average annual air temperature in the Caspian region increased by 0.51 degrees Celsius per decade, while the global average was 0.19 degrees. In addition, anthropogenic impact on the basin's rivers, primarily the Volga, has significantly affected the water balance.
In addition to shallowing, water pollution, associated in particular with active oil production, remains a serious problem. According to Kazhydromet, in 2005-2018, at 50 coastal points where monitoring was carried out, water quality ranged from “clean” to “moderately polluted”. In the Northern Caspian, excess levels of copper, iron and nitrite nitrogen were recorded, in 2009 and 2013 – for chromium, and in the Middle Caspian in different years – for copper, manganese, zinc and oil products. In 2019, within the framework of the introduced Unified Water Classification System, the Caspian was classified as “above class 5”, that is, the water was recognized as unsuitable for all types of water use.
The decline in water levels and deterioration in water quality are already having an impact on biodiversity. Over the past 20 years, the area of winter ice in the Caspian has decreased by 40 percent, and the number of Caspian seals, which breed exclusively on the ice floes of the northern part of the sea in January and February, has decreased by 90 percent in a century – from 1.2 million individuals to less than 100 thousand.
The Caspian Sea is home to six species of sturgeon, all of which are also threatened with extinction. As sea levels fall, river mouths become shallower, preventing fish from reaching their spawning grounds. Feeding areas in shallow waters are also disappearing.
“The shallowing of the Caspian Sea is a pressing issue caused by a combination of climate change and reduced river flow. Our task is to attract the attention of not only the Caspian countries, but also the world community, in order to prevent a repeat of the Aral tragedy,” said Erlik Karazhan, Head of the Central Asia Climate Fund Project Office for Climate Change and Green Energy. –0–
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