Azerbaijan raises alarm over Caspian Sea's 'catastrophic' shrinking

Source: Reuters

Azerbaijan raises alarm over Caspian Sea's 'catastrophic' shrinking

Reuters
Mon, August 19, 2024 at 10:25 AM EDT·1 min read

BAKU (Reuters) - Azeri President Ilham Aliyev on Monday discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin his concern over what he said was the "catastrophic" shrinking of the Caspian Sea, and said that the two had agreed to analyse the situation.

The Caspian Sea, the largest inland body of water in the world, lies between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, with Russia to the north and Iran and Turkmenistan to the south.

The Caspian's water levels, which have fluctuated sharply during the last century, have been falling since the mid 1990s, scientific studies have found.

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Nazim Mahmudov, the head of the National Hydrometeorological Service from the Azeri ecology ministry, told Reuters the levels had been impacted by increased evaporation associated with climate change, as well as the diversion of the Volga's waters for irrigation.

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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/news/azerbaijan-raises-alarm-over-caspian-142547499.html