As reports emerge that the Caspian Sea has reached its lowest water level in 50 years, a climatologist has warned that if the retreat continues, northern Iran will soon face a desert-like area filled with sand and salt.
Farid Mojtahedi, a climatologist, told the state-run ISNA news agency on Wednesday, August 20, that the sea’s retreat has reached about 300 meters along the Caspian coasts. He warned that if it extends to 500 or 600 meters, it will leave behind a desert-like zone of sand and salt.
He added: “At present, we are facing wind erosion along the Caspian coasts.”
Land Subsidence Warnings in Tehran and the Critical Situation of 70% of Iran’s Plains
According to Mojtahedi, desertification in the southern Caspian region will generate dust storms that affect the settlements along the southern shores of the sea.
Masoumeh Bani-Hashemi, head of the National Caspian Sea Research Center, announced on August 18 that the sea’s water level has dropped by two meters since 1996.
She explained that the decline in the Caspian’s water level has accelerated in the past two years compared to the previous 30-year period, noting that last year alone the sea level dropped by 26 centimeters.
The latest report by the Caspian Research Center, issued in June this year, confirmed the continuation of the sea’s declining water level.
The report shows that one-quarter of the total decline has occurred in just the past two years.
In 2023, the Caspian reached one of its lowest levels in the past century.
According to new data, the Caspian’s water balance has been falling at an accelerated rate over the past 18 years.
The Caspian’s water level is now 29 meters below that of open seas, and marine and climate experts predict that by the end of this century, it could drop by another 9 to 18 meters.
Such a drop would result in the loss of one-quarter of the sea’s total surface area.
Mehdi Zare, a full professor of geology, warned that if Russia’s current dam construction and water withdrawal from the Volga River continue, the Caspian will lose between 25% and 50% of its surface area by the year 2100.
With reduced water inflow into the Caspian, wetlands, migratory birds, and sturgeon populations are facing extinction.
According to Mojtahedi, one of the most critical impacts of the Caspian’s retreat is on Anzali Lagoon and Miankaleh Lagoon.
The climatologist warned that Anzali Lagoon, already threatened by waste, sewage, and sediment, now faces the risk of drying up, explaining: “This lagoon is hydrologically connected to the Caspian Sea, and due to its higher elevation, the sea is pulling water from the lagoon.”
