GNV News, September 4, 2024
The Caspian Sea’s water level has been declining year by year, reaching an all-time low of 29–30 meters below sea level in 2023. The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest inland sea and borders Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia. Since 2000, about half of the area of the retreat has occurred within Kazakhstan’s territorial waters.
The Caspian Sea’s level also fell significantly in the 20th century; at the time, reduced inflows from the surrounding catchments due to Soviet industrialization and dam construction were the causes. However, in recent years the main driver of the accelerating decline is said to be climate change. With decreased rainfall and rising surface water temperatures in the Caspian Sea, evaporation has increased, with the result that the water level is falling. In November 2024, the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is scheduled to be held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan and the largest city on the Caspian Sea. The country’s president, Ilham Aliyev, has sounded the alarm, calling the drop in the Caspian Sea’s water level “catastrophic.”
Learn more about other environmental issues facing Kazakhstan → “Kazakhstan: A country embodying the dual nature of nuclear power”
Learn more about water issues in Central Asia → “Water crisis in Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan”
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