 | |
| Continent | Asia |
|---|---|
| Region | Central Asia |
| Area | |
| • Total | 491,210 km2 (189,660 sq mi) |
| Coastline | 1,748 km (1,086 mi) |
| Highest point | Ayribobo 3,138 m |
| Lowest point | Caspian Sea −28 m |
| Longest river | Amu Darya |
| Largest lake | Sarygamysh Lake |
| Climate | ColdSemi-arid climate ColdDesert climate |
Turkmenistan is alandlocked country inCentral Asia, bordering theCaspian Sea to the west,Iran andAfghanistan to the south,Uzbekistan to the north-east, andKazakhstan to the north-west. It is the southernmost republic of theCommonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the loose federation created at the end of 1991 by most of thepost-Soviet states.[1]
The geographic coordinates are between 35°08' and 42°48' north latitude, 52°27' and 66°41' east longitude. Its longest border is with the Caspian Sea (1,786 km (1,110 mi)).[1] The other borders are with Iran (to the south, 992 km (616 mi)), Afghanistan (to the south, 744 km (462 mi)), Uzbekistan (to the north and east, 1,621 km (1,007 mi)) and Kazakhstan (to the north, 379 km (235 mi)).[1] Turkmenistan is slightly larger thanCameroon in territory, occupying 491,120 square kilometres (189,620 sq mi).[1] By area, Turkmenistan ranks fourth among the former Soviet republics, afterRussia, Kazakhstan, andUkraine.[1] The country's greatest extent from west to east is 1,100 km (680 mi), and its greatest north-to-south distance is 650 km (400 mi).[1]
40°00′N60°00′E / 40.000°N 60.000°E /40.000; 60.000
Terrain of Turkmenistan consists of a flat-to-rolling sandydesert, theKarakum, with itsdunes slowly rising to the south; by the time they reach the border withIran, they become the mountains known as theKopet Dag. TheCaspian Sea washes the western shores of this mostlyarid country.
Turkmenistan's average elevation is 100–220 meters (330–720 ft) above sea level, with its highest point beingMount Aýrybaba (3,139 m or 10,299 ft) in theKöýtendag Range of thePamir-Alay chain in the south-east,[2] and its lowest point being the Akjagaýa Depression inSarygamysh Lake, close to 100 meters (330 ft) below sea level (the actual water level in Sarygamysh Lake fluctuates widely from –110 m at its shallowest to –60 m (−360 to −200 ft).[1][3]Mount Arlan rises sharply above sea level in theGreat Balkan Range in western Turkmenistan (Balkan Province), and has a topographical prominence only slightly shorter than its height.[2] Nearly 80% of the republic lies within theTuran Depression, which slopes from south to north and from east to west.[1]
Turkmenistan's mountains include 600 km (370 mi) of the northern reaches of the Kopet Dag Range, which it shares with Iran.[1] The Kopet Dag Range is a region characterized by foothills, dry and sandy slopes, mountain plateaus, and steep ravines;Mount Şahşah (2,912 m or 9,554 ft), also known asMount Rizeh, southwest ofAshgabat, is the highest elevation of the Kopet Dag Range in Turkmenistan.[1] The Kopet Dag is undergoing tectonic transformation, meaning that the region is threatened byearthquakes such as the one that destroyed Ashgabat in 1948.[1] TheKrasnovodsk andÜstýurt plateaus are the prominent topographical features of northwestern Turkmenistan.[1]
A dominant feature of the republic's landscape is the Garagum Desert (also known asKarakum), which occupies about 350,000 square kilometers (140,000 sq mi).[1] Shifting winds create desert mountains that range from two to twenty meters (5 to 65 ft) in height and may be several kilometers in length.[1] Chains of such structures are common, as are steep elevations and smooth, concrete-like clay deposits formed by the rapid evaporation of flood waters in the same area for a number of years.[1] Large marshy salt flats, formed by capillary action in the soil, exist in many depressions, including theGaraşor, which occupies 1,500 square kilometers (580 sq mi) in the northwest.[1] TheSandykly Desert west of theAmu Darya river is the southernmost extremity of theQizilqum Desert, most of which lies in Uzbekistan to the northeast.[1]
.svg)
Turkmenistan has acold desert climate that is severelycontinental.[1] Summers are long (from May through September), hot, and dry, while winters generally are mild and dry, although occasionally cold and damp in the north.[1] Most precipitation falls between January and May; precipitation is slight throughout the country, with annual averages ranging from 300 millimeters (11.8 in) in theKopet Dag to 80 millimeters (3.15 in) in the northwest.[1] The capital,Ashgabat, close to the Iranian border in south-central Turkmenistan, averages 225 millimeters (8.9 in) of rainfall annually.[1] Average annual temperatures range from 17.5 °C (63.5 °F) in Ashgabat to 12.8 °C (55.0 °F) inDaşoguz, on the Uzbek border in north-central Turkmenistan.[1] The almost constant winds are northerly, northeasterly, or westerly.[1]
On 28 July 1983,Repetek Biosphere State Reserve, south ofTürkmenabat, recorded a temperature of 50.1 °C (122.2 °F), which is the highest temperature to have ever been recorded in Turkmenistan.[4][5]
| Climate data forAshgabat (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 27.8 (82.0) | 32.6 (90.7) | 38.6 (101.5) | 39.6 (103.3) | 45.6 (114.1) | 47.2 (117.0) | 46.8 (116.2) | 45.7 (114.3) | 45.4 (113.7) | 40.1 (104.2) | 35.0 (95.0) | 33.1 (91.6) | 47.2 (117.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 9.0 (48.2) | 11.1 (52.0) | 17.0 (62.6) | 23.9 (75.0) | 30.5 (86.9) | 36.2 (97.2) | 38.4 (101.1) | 37.2 (99.0) | 31.8 (89.2) | 24.4 (75.9) | 15.7 (60.3) | 9.8 (49.6) | 23.8 (74.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.9 (39.0) | 5.7 (42.3) | 11.1 (52.0) | 17.6 (63.7) | 24.1 (75.4) | 29.6 (85.3) | 31.7 (89.1) | 30.0 (86.0) | 24.3 (75.7) | 17.1 (62.8) | 9.7 (49.5) | 5.0 (41.0) | 17.5 (63.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −0.1 (31.8) | 1.3 (34.3) | 6.0 (42.8) | 11.8 (53.2) | 17.5 (63.5) | 22.3 (72.1) | 24.5 (76.1) | 22.4 (72.3) | 17.1 (62.8) | 10.8 (51.4) | 5.0 (41.0) | 1.1 (34.0) | 11.6 (52.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −24.1 (−11.4) | −20.8 (−5.4) | −13.3 (8.1) | −0.8 (30.6) | 1.3 (34.3) | 9.2 (48.6) | 13.8 (56.8) | 9.5 (49.1) | 2.0 (35.6) | −5.0 (23.0) | −13.1 (8.4) | −18.1 (−0.6) | −24.1 (−11.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 21 (0.8) | 33 (1.3) | 42 (1.7) | 33 (1.3) | 23 (0.9) | 8 (0.3) | 3 (0.1) | 2 (0.1) | 3 (0.1) | 12 (0.5) | 23 (0.9) | 18 (0.7) | 221 (8.7) |
| Average rainy days | 9 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 90 |
| Average snowy days | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0.03 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 1 | 3 | 15 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 78 | 72 | 66 | 58 | 47 | 35 | 34 | 34 | 40 | 54 | 68 | 77 | 55 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 112.7 | 119.4 | 146.2 | 194.4 | 275.1 | 335.5 | 353.8 | 348.1 | 289.2 | 216.8 | 157.2 | 104.4 | 2,652.8 |
| Source 1: Pogoda.ru.net[6] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA (Sunshine hours 1961–1990)[7] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data forTurkmenbashi (1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 20.7 (69.3) | 23.3 (73.9) | 29.0 (84.2) | 36.0 (96.8) | 40.7 (105.3) | 43.3 (109.9) | 44.7 (112.5) | 44.5 (112.1) | 43.5 (110.3) | 33.4 (92.1) | 28.1 (82.6) | 24.6 (76.3) | 44.7 (112.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.5 (45.5) | 8.7 (47.7) | 13.1 (55.6) | 19.9 (67.8) | 25.8 (78.4) | 31.6 (88.9) | 34.6 (94.3) | 34.5 (94.1) | 29.3 (84.7) | 21.5 (70.7) | 14.2 (57.6) | 9.1 (48.4) | 20.8 (69.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.3 (37.9) | 3.9 (39.0) | 7.7 (45.9) | 13.7 (56.7) | 19.5 (67.1) | 25.1 (77.2) | 28.2 (82.8) | 28.0 (82.4) | 22.7 (72.9) | 15.4 (59.7) | 9.3 (48.7) | 4.9 (40.8) | 15.1 (59.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −0.3 (31.5) | −0.2 (31.6) | 3.2 (37.8) | 8.5 (47.3) | 13.6 (56.5) | 18.9 (66.0) | 22.2 (72.0) | 22.0 (71.6) | 16.7 (62.1) | 10.0 (50.0) | 5.0 (41.0) | 1.2 (34.2) | 10.1 (50.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −21.5 (−6.7) | −21.9 (−7.4) | −12.6 (9.3) | −2.6 (27.3) | 0.9 (33.6) | 6.6 (43.9) | 14.1 (57.4) | 10.2 (50.4) | 3.3 (37.9) | −3.1 (26.4) | −12.1 (10.2) | −16.3 (2.7) | −21.9 (−7.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 12 (0.5) | 13 (0.5) | 17 (0.7) | 16 (0.6) | 9 (0.4) | 3 (0.1) | 2 (0.1) | 5 (0.2) | 5 (0.2) | 11 (0.4) | 19 (0.7) | 14 (0.6) | 126 (5.0) |
| Average rainy days | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 70 |
| Average snowy days | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 76 | 72 | 68 | 63 | 56 | 50 | 49 | 44 | 46 | 58 | 72 | 75 | 61 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 136.6 | 139.0 | 172.6 | 227.0 | 303.2 | 347.0 | 344.0 | 330.2 | 294.1 | 228.8 | 161.9 | 124.0 | 2,808.4 |
| Source 1: Pogoda.ru.net[8] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA (sun, 1961–1990)[9] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data forBalkanabat | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.9 (46.2) | 10.0 (50.0) | 15.8 (60.4) | 23.7 (74.7) | 30.3 (86.5) | 35.4 (95.7) | 38.1 (100.6) | 37.2 (99.0) | 31.9 (89.4) | 23.2 (73.8) | 16.4 (61.5) | 9.9 (49.8) | 23.3 (73.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.2 (37.8) | 4.6 (40.3) | 10.0 (50.0) | 17.3 (63.1) | 23.6 (74.5) | 28.8 (83.8) | 31.5 (88.7) | 31.1 (88.0) | 25.9 (78.6) | 17.5 (63.5) | 11.1 (52.0) | 5.5 (41.9) | 17.5 (63.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −0.6 (30.9) | 0.4 (32.7) | 5.4 (41.7) | 11.9 (53.4) | 17.8 (64.0) | 22.5 (72.5) | 25.7 (78.3) | 25.5 (77.9) | 19.7 (67.5) | 12.2 (54.0) | 6.8 (44.2) | 1.9 (35.4) | 12.4 (54.3) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 11 (0.4) | 14 (0.6) | 21 (0.8) | 19 (0.7) | 17 (0.7) | 5 (0.2) | 8 (0.3) | 2 (0.1) | 4 (0.2) | 12 (0.5) | 14 (0.6) | 16 (0.6) | 143 (5.6) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 51 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 68 | 63 | 56 | 50 | 43 | 38 | 41 | 34 | 34 | 46 | 58 | 70 | 50 |
| Source: NOAA[10] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data forTürkmenabat | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 24.0 (75.2) | 28.4 (83.1) | 33.9 (93.0) | 40.3 (104.5) | 42.2 (108.0) | 44.0 (111.2) | 46.2 (115.2) | 43.0 (109.4) | 40.4 (104.7) | 35.6 (96.1) | 31.3 (88.3) | 25.7 (78.3) | 46.2 (115.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 6.8 (44.2) | 10.0 (50.0) | 16.0 (60.8) | 24.4 (75.9) | 30.4 (86.7) | 34.8 (94.6) | 36.4 (97.5) | 34.5 (94.1) | 29.7 (85.5) | 22.6 (72.7) | 15.0 (59.0) | 8.3 (46.9) | 22.4 (72.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 1.0 (33.8) | 3.7 (38.7) | 9.2 (48.6) | 17.1 (62.8) | 23.3 (73.9) | 27.6 (81.7) | 29.3 (84.7) | 26.9 (80.4) | 21.2 (70.2) | 13.9 (57.0) | 7.6 (45.7) | 2.7 (36.9) | 15.3 (59.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −3.3 (26.1) | −1.1 (30.0) | 3.6 (38.5) | 10.4 (50.7) | 15.7 (60.3) | 19.5 (67.1) | 21.4 (70.5) | 19.0 (66.2) | 13.1 (55.6) | 6.6 (43.9) | 1.7 (35.1) | −1.8 (28.8) | 8.7 (47.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −23.8 (−10.8) | −22.2 (−8.0) | −16.3 (2.7) | −4.6 (23.7) | 0.8 (33.4) | 9.4 (48.9) | 11.2 (52.2) | 9.1 (48.4) | 2.8 (37.0) | −9.5 (14.9) | −19.8 (−3.6) | −23.4 (−10.1) | −23.8 (−10.8) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 19 (0.7) | 17.4 (0.69) | 26.7 (1.05) | 22.4 (0.88) | 10.4 (0.41) | 1.5 (0.06) | 1.0 (0.04) | 0.1 (0.00) | 0.5 (0.02) | 4.6 (0.18) | 9.8 (0.39) | 16.1 (0.63) | 129.5 (5.05) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 6.3 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 4.7 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 5.2 | 6.3 | 38.6 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 76.9 | 69.6 | 59.4 | 51.4 | 43.1 | 36.0 | 37.4 | 38.1 | 43.3 | 54.4 | 69.3 | 77.2 | 54.7 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 131.8 | 153.2 | 197.6 | 242.1 | 330.3 | 384.5 | 395.3 | 379.1 | 322.7 | 267.7 | 193.7 | 132.0 | 3,130 |
| Source 1: climatebase.ru[11] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA (1961-1990)[12][13] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data forErbent (1961–1990 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 5.5 (41.9) | 8.7 (47.7) | 15.9 (60.6) | 24.5 (76.1) | 31.4 (88.5) | 37.0 (98.6) | 39.1 (102.4) | 37.2 (99.0) | 31.6 (88.9) | 22.7 (72.9) | 15.2 (59.4) | 7.9 (46.2) | 23.1 (73.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 0.1 (32.2) | 2.6 (36.7) | 9.2 (48.6) | 17.3 (63.1) | 24.1 (75.4) | 29.8 (85.6) | 32.4 (90.3) | 30.0 (86.0) | 23.8 (74.8) | 15.1 (59.2) | 8.5 (47.3) | 2.6 (36.7) | 16.3 (61.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −3.9 (25.0) | −2.0 (28.4) | 4.0 (39.2) | 11.2 (52.2) | 16.9 (62.4) | 22.0 (71.6) | 24.6 (76.3) | 21.8 (71.2) | 15.8 (60.4) | 8.3 (46.9) | 3.1 (37.6) | −1.3 (29.7) | 10.0 (50.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 13 (0.5) | 11 (0.4) | 22 (0.9) | 22 (0.9) | 13 (0.5) | 4 (0.2) | 2 (0.1) | 1 (0.0) | 2 (0.1) | 6 (0.2) | 10 (0.4) | 13 (0.5) | 119 (4.7) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 42 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 73 | 63 | 54 | 46 | 33 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 30 | 43 | 59 | 74 | 46 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 137.4 | 155.1 | 198.9 | 228.9 | 306.4 | 363.3 | 376.3 | 367.0 | 321.9 | 249.0 | 187.6 | 131.0 | 3,022.8 |
| Source: NOAA[14] | |||||||||||||
Almost 80% of the territory of Turkmenistan lacks a constant source of surface water flow.[1] Its main rivers are located only in the southern and eastern peripheries; a few smaller rivers on the northern slopes of the Kopetdag are diverted entirely to irrigation.[1] The most important river is the Amu Darya, which has a total length of 2,540 km (1,580 mi) from its farthest tributary, making it the longest river in Central Asia.[1] The Amu Darya flows across northeastern Turkmenistan, thence eastward to form the southern borders of Uzbekistan andTajikistan.[1] Damming and irrigation uses of the Amu Darya have had severe environmental effects on theAral Sea, into which the river flows.[1] The river's average annual flow is 1,940 cubic meters per second (69,000 cu ft/s).[1] Other major rivers are theTejen (1,124 km or 698 mi); theMurgab (852 km or 529 mi); and theAtrek (660 km or 410 mi).[1]
Since thedissolution of the Soviet Union,environmental regulation is largely unchanged in Turkmenistan.[1] The new government created the Ministry of Natural Resources Use and Environmental Protection in July 1992, with departments responsible for environmental protection, protection of flora and fauna,forestry,hydrometeorology, and administrative planning.[1] Like other CIS republics, Turkmenistan has established an Environmental Fund based on revenues collected from environmental fines, but the fines generally are too low to accumulate significant revenue.[1] Thanks to the former Soviet system of game preserves and the efforts of the Society for Nature Conservation and the Academy of Sciences, flora and fauna receive some protection in the republic; however, "hard-currency hunts" by wealthy Western and Arab foreigners already are depleting animals on preserves.[1]
Contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salination, water-saturation of soil due to poor irrigation methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow of theAmu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish theAral Sea;desertification
According to estimates, as a result of desertification processes and pollution, biological productivity of the ecological systems in Turkmenistan has declined by 30% to 50% in recent decades.[1] TheKarakum andKyzyl Kum deserts are expanding at a rate surpassed on a planetary scale only by the desertification process in theSahara andSahel regions of Africa.[1] Between 8,000 and 10,000 km2 of new desert now appears each year in Central Asia.[1]
The most irreparable type of desertification is thesalinization process that forms marshy salt flats.[1] A major factor that contributes to these conditions is inefficient use of water because of weak regulation and failure to charge for water that is used.[1] Efficiency in application of water to the fields is low, but the main problem is leakage in main and secondary canals, especially Turkmenistan's main canal, theKarakum Canal.[1] Nearly half of the canal's water seeps out into lakes and salt swamps along its path.[1] Excessive irrigation brings salts to the surface, forming salt marshes that dry into unusable clay flats.[1] In 1989 Turkmenistan's Institute for Desert Studies claimed that the area of such flats had reached 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi).[1]
The type of desertification caused by year-round pasturing of cattle has been termed the most devastating in Central Asia, with the gravest situations in Turkmenistan and theKazakh steppe along the eastern and northern coasts of theCaspian Sea.[1] Wind erosion and desertification also are severe in settled areas along theGaragum Canal; planted windbreaks have died because of soil water-saturation and / or salinization.[1] Other factors promoting desertification are the inadequacy of the collector-drainage system built in the 1950s and inappropriate application of chemicals.[1]
Turkmenistan both contributes to and suffers from the consequences of the desiccation of theAral Sea.[1] Because of excessive irrigation, Turkmen agriculture contributes to the steady drawdown of sea levels.[1] In turn, the Aral Sea'sdesiccation, which had shrunk that body of water by an estimated 59,000 square kilometers (23,000 sq mi) by 1994, profoundly affects economic productivity and the health of the population of the republic.[1] Besides the cost of ameliorating damaged areas and the loss of at least part of the initial investment in them, salinization and chemicalization of land have reduced agricultural productivity in Central Asia by an estimated 20–25%.[1] Poor drinking water is the main health risk posed by suchenvironmental degradation.[1] InDashhowuz Province, which has suffered the greatest ecological damage from the Aral Sea's desiccation, bacteria levels in drinking water exceeded ten times the sanitary level; 70% of the population has experienced illnesses, many withhepatitis, andinfant mortality is high.[1] Experts have warned that inhabitants will have to evacuate the province by the end of the century unless a comprehensive cleanup program is undertaken.[1] Turkmenistan has announced plans to clean up some of the Aral Sea fallout with financial support from theWorld Bank.[1]
The most productivecotton lands in Turkmenistan (the middle and lower Amu Darya and the Murgap oasis) receive as much as 250 kilograms of fertilizer per hectare (220 lb/acre), compared with the average application of thirty kilograms per hectare (27 lb/acre).[1] Furthermore, most fertilizers are so poorly applied that experts have estimated that only 15–40% of the chemicals can be absorbed by cotton plants, while the remainder washes into the soil, and subsequently into the groundwater.[1] Cotton also uses far more pesticides and defoliants than other crops, and application of these chemicals often is mishandled by farmers.[1] For example, local herdsmen, unaware of the danger of DDT, have reportedly mixed the pesticide with water and applied it to their faces to keep away mosquitoes.[1] In the late 1980s, a drive began in Central Asia to reduceagrochemical usage.[1] In Turkmenistan the campaign reduced fertilizer use 30% between 1988 and 1989.[1] In the early 1990s, the use of some pesticides and defoliants declined drastically because of the country's shortage of hard currency.[1]
The value ofmethane leakage in 2019/20, a form ofgreenhouse gas emission, has been estimated as 6 billionUSD.[15]
Natural resources:petroleum,natural gas,sulfur,salt
Land use:
arable land: 3.89%
permanent crops: 0.12%
other: 95.98% (2011)
Irrigated land: 19,910 km2 (7,690 sq mi) (2006)
Total renewable water resources: 24.77 km2 (9.56 sq mi) (2011)
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) This article incorporatespublic domain material fromThe World Factbook.CIA.
