The Aral Sea

Impact on environment, economy, and public health

The Aral Sea is considered an example of ecosystem collapse. The ecosystems of the Aral Sea and the river deltas feeding into it have been nearly destroyed, not least because of the much higher salinity. The receding sea has left huge plains covered with salt and toxic chemicals resulting from weapons testing, industrial projects, and pesticides and fertilizer runoff. Due to the shrinking water source and worsening water and soil quality, pesticides were increasingly used from the 1960s to raise cotton yield, which further polluted the water with toxins such as DDTs. Furthermore, "PCB-compounds and heavy metals" from industrial pollution contaminants were added.

Due to the minimal amount of water left in the Aral sea, concentrations of these pollutants have risen drastically in remaining water and dry beds. These make for wind-borne toxic dust that spreads quite widely. People living in the lower parts of the river basins and former shore zones ingest pollutants through local drinking water and inhalation of contaminated dust. Furthermore, due to absorption by plants and livestock, toxins (many of which cannot be, without lasting damage, broken down then excreted by the liver/kidney system) have entered the food chain.  As a result, the land mentioned is heavily polluted, where inhabitants are suffering from a lack of fresh water and health problems, including high rates of certain forms of cancer and lung diseases. Respiratory illnesses, including tuberculosis (most of which is drug resistant) and cancer, digestive disorders, anaemia, and infectious diseases are common ailments. Liver, kidney, and eye problems can also be attributed to the toxic dust storms. All of this has resulted in an unusually high fatality rate among vulnerable age groups: child mortality stood at 75 per 1,000 in 2009, when maternity death stood at 12 in every 1,000 The dust storms also contribute to water shortages through salt deposition. The overuse of pesticides on crops to preserve yields has made this worse, such use far beyond health limits. Crops are destroyed where salt is deposited by the wind. Worst-affected fields when winds accrete such matter must be flushed with water four times per day to flush away salt and toxic matter. A study of 1998 showed the degradation allows few crops to grow besides fodder, which is what farmers in Kazakhstan are now deciding to seed. Landmark waters can moderate a region's climate by moistening, regulating thermal energy and peri-winter albedo effects. Loss of water in the Aral Sea has changed surface temperatures and wind patterns. This has led to a broader annual temperature range (about a 4˚ to 12˚C broadening) and more dust in storms locally and regionally.