NASA’s latest satellite images show that Lake Urmia, located in northwestern Iran, has completely dried up.
Once known as the world’s second-largest salt lake, Urmia has shrunk over the years and completely disappeared due to drought, inadequate water management, and dams built around the lake. The area where the lake was located is now a vast, barren expanse covered in salt.
Iran’s Ettelaat newspaper wrote in its September 7 issue that the drying up of the lake was an expected development. The report recalled that environmentalists and experts had warned at the beginning of the summer that the lake would completely dry up by the end of the summer.
According to experts, the drying up of the lake will lead to significant losses in tourism revenue. Furthermore, the salt storms that will occur will negatively impact agriculture and living conditions in the regions located to the east and southeast of the lake.
The Iranian government has developed various projects to protect the lake in recent years. However, due to ongoing drought and the depletion of groundwater, these initiatives have not yielded results.