Tehran, Iran – Caspian Sea’s water levels have reached their lowest point in the past 30 years, with the northern parts of the sea experiencing a more severe decline than the southern parts, a report in Iran’s Tasnim News Agency said.
Satellite images obtained by Tasnim and taken from 2000 to July 2023 show that water levels in the Caspian Sea have dropped by 9 meters, resulting in a 24 percent decrease in the area of the sea.
The northern half of the lake, which is shallower, has seen a more significant drop in water levels compared to the deeper southern part.
Mojtaba Zoljoodi, the deputy head of the Iranian Department of Environment, explained that the ecological level of the Caspian Sea has naturally fluctuated over time.
“For several years, the Caspian water level has constantly increased and has then decreased for another several years. But in the last two decades, the process of reduction of the Caspian water level has become lengthier and the intensity of decline in the water level, particularly in recent years, has accelerated in a way that the water level has dropped by 26 centimeters in 1401 (March 2022 – March 2023) alone,” Zoljoodi said.
The Caspian Sea, the Earth’s largest inland water body, spans about 371,000 square kilometers and is invaluable in terms of its economic, social, and biodiversity contributions.
It supports a commercially important fishery, supplies water for agriculture, and provides recreation and work opportunities for people living nearby.
The sea is also home to several threatened species, including an estimated 90% of the planet’s last-remaining sturgeon.
In the northern Caspian, shallow waters teem with mollusks, crustaceans, fish, and birds. Seals raise their pups on winter ice that usually only forms in this part of the lake.
All these species rely on a healthy water level for their existence, but the Caspian Sea is rapidly shrinking.
Radar altimetry data collected by multiple satellites and compiled by NASA’s Global Water Monitor indicate that the Caspian’s water levels have been dropping since the mid-1990s.
Other research suggests that the decline could continue as climate change brings warmer air temperatures and increased evaporation.
In one study, scientists ran several models to estimate future water losses due to climate change. They projected that by 2100, water levels in the Caspian Sea could drop by another 8 to 30 meters.
The use or diversion of water for human activity is also an important driver of water loss in the Caspian.
Accounting for this factor adds up to 7 meters of further loss, the scientists found, NASA reported.