Situation Reports - September 9, 2024 By Adkhamjon Janobiddinov The Aral Sea, once the fourth-largest lake in the world, has lost over 90% of its area over the last few decades. As a result, the local economy has been heavily damaged, lands have become useless for agriculture, and the unique flora and fauna of the Aral region are now facing extinction. The region is home to one of the biggest environmental crises in the world, yet few global audiences are even aware of it. Located between Northern Uzbekistan and Southern Kazakhstan, the Aral Sea was once a huge lake with an area of over 68,000 square kilometers (over 26,000 square miles). Historically, the Aral Sea relied on the Amu Darya and Syrdarya, two rivers in Central Asia. However, during the Soviet era, due to mismanagement of water resources, water from these rivers no longer reached the Aral Sea. As a result, the body of water started to shrink, and today the current area of the Aral Sea is just around 3,500 square kil
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