Asia | Water woes

The Caspian Sea is shrinking rapidly

This has big implications for Russia, which has come to rely on Central Asian ports

Kazakhstan, the Ustyurt plateau. Caspian sea;
Now you sea itPhotograph: Shutterstock

FOR MANY living on Kazakhstan’s coast, it was obvious long ago. The Caspian Sea is drying up. The world’s largest inland body of water has dropped by two metres since the mid-1990s, shrinking by 15,000 square km, an area bigger than Connecticut. Each year in Aktau, a coastal city, the sea retreats further from the shore.

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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Water woes”

From the November 23rd 2024 edition

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